Two New
by MonkPrincess
Summary: Two new(see title) pilots are sent to fight along side the GW-boys! How will they survive? how will th GW-boys survive? And what happens when you mix sugar with Duo? All this plus action, suspense, and Wufie ranting about the injustices in the world!!
1. Default Chapter

Two New Introduction: Monk Princess' First attempt at a Gundam Wing ficcie (and co- written by my friend)! Yeah! But not, I really will try my hardest to keep them in character, with a little twist. I have only seen like 12 random episodes and a couple other GW fics. So forgive me if I do something really weird and wrong, but hey sometimes it's funnier/creative like that. Now on with the story (oh by the way, that intro was done at the beginning of the ficcie..i've seen more gundam wing and written more ficcies and I think it's really ok) ..  
  
The fluorescent lights dimly shone in the long metallic corridor. Only gusts of wind could be heard besides the shushed footsteps of three people. Two girls hurried down the hall behind a tall dark man. They walked in and out of shadows awaiting their fate. Soon a light appeared at the end of the corridor (and no they were not dying), and they continued along the tunnel until the light engulfed them. A few seconds passed while the girls' eyes to adjust to the brightness. The room looked exactly like the hall, big flat sheets of metal, bolted down on each of the corners. No windows, no doors, there was nothing to produce natural light. The three walked along the railing until they reached a flight of stairs. The man motioned for the girls to descend them, and they did. When they reached the center of the huge plain room, they stopped.  
  
"Congratulations ladies." The man spoke in a low serious tone. "You two have been chosen to pilot the newest models of gundams." Suddenly the right wall slowly rose up, revealing two concealed gundams. "Sam Lukowski!" He outstretched his arm to the blazing, burnt red gundam. Its weapon of choice was a flame-thrower. "Gundam HellfireDevil is yours." Sam stared in awe of the huge mecha, as it peered deep into her soul. The other misty grayish blue monster equipped with a long, sharp katana, stood motionless next to its friend. "Aenne(for your info, it's a German name pronounce Anna) Schumann," The man continued. "You shall receive Gundam Troublewind." Aenne did the same as her friend, stuck in awe. "These Gundams were made especially for you, we suited them to your actions and personality." A pause hit him. "Please go rest up until we call for you." The man was finished, he did not needed nor cared to say anything else. He left.  
  
"Sam.." Aenne whispered. "Sam." She got no response from her buddy. "SAM!!" The yell echoed in the space. Sam covered her ears.  
  
"Aenne! Quiet!" She scolded. "What?" Sam asked in reference to Aenne's pestering.  
  
"I don get it...Why are we here?" Aenne scratched her head in confusion. This was all so sudden for her. Without warning, both Sam and her had been literally pulled from their wonderful all-girls Catholic high school, forced to pack their most precious items, flown in a private airplane into the middle of nowhere, and placed in some secret underground military base, all in one day!  
  
"Well, either they are training us for the coolest, most exciting, mission with many and many explosions!" Sam grinned as she rubbed her hands together.  
  
"Yeah!! Explosions are the bestest! Especially when it hits stuff..like chickens!" Aenne chimed in gleefully. "Fun!"  
  
"Or..." Sam stated calmly.  
  
"Or what?"  
  
"Or..They going to execute us." She said bluntly. Aenne gulped.  
  
"Umm..Sam, no. They can't kill us! Can they?" Abruptly, the door swung open, banging hard against the metal wall. BOOM! Aenne jumped up, in fright, and then cowered behind Sam. When Aenne looked up, yes, she was still very much alive and not bleeding profusely. Sam started giggling at her. "What?"  
  
"It was funny cause you thought they tried to kill you." Sam continued giggling until the persons from the door approached them. "Yes?" She asked quizzically.  
  
"Come. Meet your colleagues who you will work with on this next mission." Sam and Aenne yet again followed this strange fellow. He has no purpose except to terrify others and be all dark and mysterious like. They ended up in a similar room, only not quite as big, and five young handsome men waiting not so patiently.  
  
"What!? We have to work with unprodigious chicks!?!" The Chinese guy shouted. Frustrated with this insult, he crossed his arms and looked away.  
  
"HEY!!! We didn't ask to be here!!" Aenne fought back against the stranger. "It's not like I woke up this morning thinking, hey let's go blow up stuff! Ya know, we got stuck with you!!" Mimicking the stubborn adolescent, Aenne also crossed her arms in disparagement.  
  
"You are not worthy enough to fight along side of us!!" The shouting match continued.  
  
"I see you have already met Wu-man." Another young man with a long brunette braid that swung back and forth as he walked, advanced toward Sam. "I'm Duo Maxwell!" He extended his hand, and Sam shook it.  
  
"Sam, Sam Lukowski."  
  
"That there is Heero." Duo pointed to a pessimistic guy, who sat cross- legged on the cold hard floor. Dou stepped over to him and rested his elbow on Heero's shoulder. "Say hello to the ladies."  
  
"Don't touch me." He said harshly, as he removed Duo from his aura.  
  
"I don't know why I bother." He lowered his head in defeat, but moved on introducing the other two. "Quatre." The blonde sheepishly said hi. "Trowa." Bang boy slightly tilted his head back as if to say 'yo'. "And now what might your name be?" Duo questioned with intrigue.  
  
"Hm!" Aenne, still feeling bitter towards Wufei, replied with an arrogant sound. Sam nudged her. "Oh, sorry. I'm Aenne."  
  
"Great, now that we all know everyone we're like one big happy family!" Duo smiled happily. Aenne and Wufei glanced at each other, followed by irritated grunts and noses stuck up in the air. Sam just pondered over these new pilots she would be working with. She made her own judgments about each of them. Trowa turned around and left and Quatre shyly trailed behind. One by one the young men left the room and again the two girls were left alone. Aenne placed her hand on Sam's back.  
  
"Well, that was odd.."  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
The already five gundam pilots filled into boarding rooms. Heero sat tentatively on his bunk, Chang leaned up against the frame of the doorway, Quatre lazily lay back on his bed, Trowa went over to his chest, attempting to get something, and Duo pleasantly stood in the center of the bunch.  
  
"They seemed nice, don't ya think?"  
  
"Shut up Maxwell!" Wufei remarked coldly.  
  
"I disagree with this whole thing." Heero looked up emotionless. "This is a mistake."  
  
"Heero. Stop it. Learn to live with things." Quatre commented trying to stop any future fight that could break out. "What's done is done, and we can't change it."  
  
Heero smirked.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
The new lady pilots wandered into their own room. It was simple, like the rest of the complex. A bunk bed leant against the right wall and a dresser up against the left side. Someone had already brought their luggage into the room, it lay on the bunks.  
  
"Cozy.." Aenne mumbled. "It looks like we joined the army or something."  
  
"Just like home!" Sam ran over and jumped on the bottom bunk. "Yeah!" She snuggled the plain cotton pillow. "Now, to find the rations!" Sam leaned over to look under the bed. Aenne stared at her companion, puzzled.  
  
It was amazing how these two completely different types of people came together and were now the best of friends. Sam grew up in a military like family. She was very much a man, tough and buff! Surrounded by three brothers and her father forced her to fight and act the way she did. Sam could beat the crap out of anyone, even the strongest of men (GO SAM!). She resolved her conflicts how most guys would, a good punch in the face would suffice. Sam knew the truth, everything, she paid attention to every  
  
little detail. Never would you want to pick a fight with this prodigious chick!  
  
Now, like we have previously stated, Aenne was completely different. Aenne had grown up in an average type family. A mother, a father, a brother, and of course a cute little poochie, nothing special, except she was royalty. Yes, well.. at least she thought so. She was always jealous of Sam, how could she be so valiant? Not jealous in a bad way, but the kind of jealousy that make people happy to know there is someone there like that. Don't take this girl as some sissy though. Aenne was definitely not a wussy, and she would never let anyone even consider it. She could hold her own in any rumble, but sometimes she let her emotions get into the way, which sometimes caused her defeat; her goal, to overcome this weakness.  
  
Sam, as we can tell, qualified to be the best gundam pilot of the bunch. Military training is vigorous and only the strong survive. And Sam did. Aenne qualified in a different way. As far back as she can remember she studied the finest martial arts (ha! I'm a stealth ninja). As for how these two met.at school. A friend had introduced them. I'm sure the two thought each other to be absolutely insane, but that soon changed.  
  
"I call top bunk!!" Sam roared as she piled her belongings onto the higher bed.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"'Cause I called it! That's why!!"  
  
Aenne sighed. "How am I supposed to decorate? I'll get no light down here!" She pouted as she started to unpack. Aenne pulled out her feather comforter and feather pillows, and replaced the distasteful cotton blanket and pillow. She chucked the unwanted items up to Sam. "Here." Sam gladly accepted. The only thing that Sam unpacked was her favorite army jacket, which she joyously slipped on. Sam laid her hands behind her head and relaxed on the bunk.  
  
"Ah..This is the life! I just can't wait till our mission."  
  
"Wonder what it'll be about." Aenne pulled out her pink curtains and tucked them into the top mattress, so she had a little fort.  
  
"Hopefully, we'll get to kick some major ass!!!"  
  
"And we'll get paid lots of money!" She unloaded her pictures of friends, family, and monks and posted them on the wall.  
  
"And we'll get to go bash people's heads in with shovels!" Sam got all excited.  
  
"And we'll meet handsome princes who will fall in love with us!" She sighed lovingly, imagining herself surrounded by gorgeous princes.  
  
"Some one call?" Duo said, waiting in the doorway. "Prince Duo, here at your service. Lovelies, we have a briefing to go to." He offered the ladies his arm. Sam hoped down from the top bunk and walked past Duo, ignoring him. Next came Aenne who just shrugged her shoulders at him. "No love at all.." Duo murmured.  
  
Sam and Aenne hiked side by side until they got to the briefing room. The four other man pilots camped near the door, awaiting the girls. Wufei and Aenne exchanged evil glances. They stood staring and thinking evil thoughts, even after everyone else filed into the room.  
  
Chang coughed. "After you.."  
  
"No please after you." Aenne clenched her teeth together.  
  
"No, I insist."  
  
"Ladies first!" Aenne shot back. Chang sulked, defeated.  
  
"You have no sense of justice..." He mumbled.  
  
Inside the room was a large, white table with a hologram projector on it. Everyone was crammed around the table except the pilot named Heero. He stood against the plain molding of the door with his arms crossed at his chest.  
  
"Well," Sam said bored, "Can we get started with the briefing?"  
  
"Yes, "Quatre started, "As we all know, we have been chosen to fight for the colonies-"  
  
"Perhaps you were." Sam stated loudly.  
  
"Yeah!" Aenne added, "We haven't taken sides yet."  
  
"As I was saying," Quatre continued, "We were chosen to fight for the colonies. We have to defeat the leader of the Earth's Military."  
  
"You mean Treize whats-his-name of OZ?" Aenne asked.  
  
"Yes," Quatre said smiling.  
  
"That's all fine and dandy, but get on with the briefing!" Sam said exasperated.  
  
Heero walked over to the table and turned on the switch to the holo projector. Instantly rays of light shown, giving a clear picture of battle schematics. Sam looked intently at the projection, as did Heero, before the both asked at the same time. "I see you have set us/the girls as backup."  
  
"Yes," Quatre responded, "We don't know how well they pilot their Gundams, so we can't afford to put them in the front line."  
  
"I see," Sam said, "But don't you think it would be best to put Heero on the front instead of Chang, and Trowa on the left to flank the OZ's MS, while Quatre and Duo both attack from the right flank. Of course, Aenne and I would be your back up."  
  
"No," Heero said, "Then our support would be divided up too much."  
  
"No," Sam said in reply, "It would force their support to divide."  
  
"What would this woman know?" Chang, or Wu-man, said cutting in.  
  
"More then you would!" Aenne yelled, giving evil glances.  
  
"This is getting us nowhere." Quatre whined.  
  
"We have more important things to do, like preparing our Gundams." Duo interrupted. "So why don't we leave the battle plan as it is, and get ready to attack."  
  
"Yes." Trowa spoke up, finally saying something.  
  
"When should we be ready?" Sam asked.  
  
"By the looks of it, "Duo replied, "I would say 0800 hours tomorrow morning."  
  
"That's great!" Sam said, "Aenne, why don't we take our Gundams out for a test run."  
  
"That's just great." Chang replied, "We can watch them get destroyed before they even get in battle."  
  
"What was that?!" Aenne yelled.  
  
"Oh nothing," Chang said glaring. "I was just commenting on how well you two are going to pilot."  
  
"Better then you ever could!" Aenne snapped back.  
  
"Oh boy," Duo said rolling his eyes. "Come princess Aenne, may I escort you to your Gundam?"  
  
"Yes, Prince Duo!" Aenne said with a smile. She turned away from Chang with an evil grin. She then leaned into Duo ear and whispered something just between the two of them. Suddenly, Dou burst out in laughter.  
  
"At last!" He yelled, "A pilot not serious!" All the pilots just stared at his lack of control. He swept Aenne up in his arms and spun her around. Aenne just laughed out loud. It was then, when Sam looked at Chang's face, she discovered a look of slight jealously. Chang turned his head and stormed out of the room. Heero briefly looked up and then walked out of the room followed by Sam.  
  
"Where are you going?" Quatre asked.  
  
"We have a mission, remember." Sam answered. "Come on Aenne, lets show Duo what we can do."  
  
"I'll show the ladies to the docking bay." Dou said grinning.  
  
"I'll make my own way," Sam said walking past him. Aenne and Dou walked arm-in-arm down the hallway. Quatre, left in the room alone with Trowa, just sighed in relief.  
  
Once in the docking bay, Aenne and Sam got a better look at their new, shiny Gundams. Aenne went straight to the cockpit of hers while Sam stayed on the floor looking up at hers.  
  
"Well," Sam started, what do you think?"  
  
"It's great!" Aenne yelled down. "It fits me so well don't you think?"  
  
"Yes, like a glove." Dou said in reply.  
  
Aenne tinkered in the cockpit familiarized herself with the controls. Randomly, she hit buttons and switches each with different meanings. Sam, on the other hand, was asking Duo about the schematics of the Gundams. Such things like, where the weak points are, blind spots, and where exactly and how much time was set on the self-destruction device. After she discovered all she wanted, knowing that Aenne would ask questions, she welcomed herself into her Gundam. She motioned Dou to come with them, he shook his head in decline and walked out of the airlock way.  
  
"Well," Aenne said over the intercom thingy in her Gundam, "Lets go!"  
  
"Just a minute." Sam answered, "I just need to power up HellfireDevil."  
  
"I see you are already on a first name basis with your Gundam."  
  
"Sure," Sam replied with a chuckle, "What do you think of Troublewind?"  
  
"He's awesome. Just like a ninja!" Aenne said excitedly. With that, they both understood that it was time for a test drive. Instantly, the engine fired up and they sped out of the airlock. 


	2. Chapter 2

"They are gone now," Dou said to the other young pilots. He walked into the room where they held the debriefing. He walked over to the holo-projector and turned it out. "We can watch them now.  
  
"Good," Heero said replying, "Now we can see just how good they really are."  
  
"But what if this was a mistake?" Quatre asked imploringly. "It is right to put so much trust into those two?"  
  
"I think it is safe." Dou said with determination. "Sam knows her stuff and Aenne, well, Aenne will do just fine. Besides it will be nice to have some excitement around here."  
  
"I think it is a mistake." Chang said simply with subdued tones.  
  
"Fine," Heero intervened, "What about you, Trowa?"  
  
"I will have an opinion after tomorrow's battle." Trowa said in reply.  
  
"Good idea." Heero declared, "Until then, we can only go by with what they show us now."  
  
"Agreed." Quatre said in response.  
  
"It's still a mistake." Chang mumbled. Never the less, he paid attention to the holo-projector.  
  
********  
  
Sam and Aenne swirled around in their Gundams, swinging and weaving between each other. The sun was just now setting over a small bay. The surrounding area was very a very luscious forest. Small mountains were lined up against the horizon and little fish villages sprouted up as the two young ladies flew above the ground. Aenne and Sam quickly made judgments about where they were, and picked a place to spar.  
  
"Now remember Aenne," Sam said over her P.A., "Don't over do it."  
  
"Hey Sam, hit the switch above you on the right."  
  
"Which one Aenne, their happens to be a lot of switches." Sam said a little annoyed with the lack of clarity.  
  
"It should be a round one." Aenne said hoping to make it clearer. Sam stretched her hand above her, looking for the button until she found it. She complied with Aenne's wishes and pushed it. Suddenly, an image of Aenne popped up to her left.  
  
"Sam!" Aenne chirped, "It's me!"  
  
"Obviously." Sam said, "My bet is, they are going to watch us pilot, so let's show them what we can do."  
  
"Yeah!"  
  
Sam lunged at Aenne with a beam sword. She decided that in a place such as this, a flame thrower would be to dangerous. Aenne blocked Sam with her Katana, then made an attack of her own. Quickly, Sam dodged and formed a counter attack. Suddenly Aenne saw Sam speed away from her in bird mode; Aenne followed her, nipping at her heels.  
  
"Come on Aenne!" Sam yelled, "You have to do better then that."  
  
"You are one to talk!" Aenne yelled back.  
  
Aenne sped in front of Sam and halted her to a dead stop, but Sam had already predicted her movement. Sam was already back in her regular fighter mode and had her beam sword directly in front of Aenne. It would have been a perfect hit if Sam didn't stagger it.  
  
"That's was good." Aenne said a little shaken up, "But you forgot something!" With lighting speed Aenne thrust her Katana upward placing it in the same deadly position that Sam's beam sword was in.  
  
"Great job Aenne," Sam said congratulating her. "Do you think we should go back now."  
  
"Yes, I think they got a taste of how good we are. Now they know we would out pilot them any day!"  
  
********  
  
"Well," Quatre said, "They are good."  
  
"Yes." Heero said.  
  
"I think we can trust their abilities." Trowa said.  
  
"I still think it is a mistake." Chang said quietly.  
  
"Oh shut up Wufei!" Duo shouted, "No one wants to hear what you think. I'm going to welcome them back."  
  
"I'll join you." Quatre said following.  
  
"No!" Duo yelled.  
  
"Why not?" Quatre asked a little hurt.  
  
"Because I want to do it alone." Duo answered, "They still aren't used to us."  
  
"You shouldn't welcome them too much." Heero said ruining Dou's good mood.  
  
"Huh?" He said in his tracks.  
  
"Don't welcome them to much." Heero repeated. Dou didn't want to listen to that advice, so he walked out of the room and ran down the steel hallway to the loading dock, just as Sam and Aenne arrived.  
  
"Great job!" He yelled as they both stepped out.  
  
"Thanks," Sam yelled back to him.  
  
"You really impressed them." Dou said matter-of-factly.  
  
"Really?" Aenne asked.  
  
"Yep." Dou said shaking his head affirmatively.  
  
"Why don't I treat you to some dinner." Dou asked.  
  
"No thanks." Aenne said, "I'd like to rest for a bit. I'll catch up."  
  
"I will!" Sam said, "I'm starving!"  
  
"Okay then." Dou said knowing not to offer his arm this time. He just led the way, leaving Aenne alone in the bay. The lunchroom, for lack of a better word, was near the briefing room. It was plain, but this room was different from all the other Sam had seen. This room had a window! Sam ignored the table where Dou was sitting and just gazed out the window that had a perfect view of the bay she saw earlier when piloting. It wasn't until the scent of food reached her nose that Sam paid attention to what she was doing. She ate quickly because she didn't want to leave Aenne alone to long. She ran back down the docking bay, before telling Dou that was the place to find her.  
  
During this intercourse, Aenne went back to her room to take a quick nap. She still had many question floating in her head, like why she was picked as a pilot, and why she had to fight for the colonies. She fell asleep thinking. When she woke up, her stomach grumbled angrily. She stood up a little shaky. She made her way out the door only hear loud, protruding noise originating from the docking bay. Instantly she knew who it was.  
  
"Sam!" Aenne yelled from the top of the stairs.  
  
"Dou was looking for you." Sam said with her back to Aenne.  
  
"Really!?" Aenne tilted her head in confusion. "Why so?"  
  
"I dunno." Sam said uncaring. "I think he said something about Wufei, or he calls him Wu-man, and his gundam."  
  
"Hmm." A glint of evil spread across her green eyes. "Bye!" She dashed off down the hall, leaving Sam all alone.  
  
"I don't wanna know." Sam decided to go finish unpacking her cool army stuff.  
  
Aenne continued to sprint down the long hallway; she dodged all the random people walking very slowly and jumped over the haphazard pieces of machinery that lay, blocking the path. Soon Aenne found herself lost, very lost. 'Great! This is just prodigious!' She thought sarcastically. 'What else can go wrong?' People should never say or think those words, because something else always goes wrong. And it did. When Aenne turned the next corner she ran straight into Chang Wufei, knocking them both over. Being very agile, Aenne quickly back flipped landing on her feet. Wufei, who really was too busy at the moment, did not react and just tumbled backwards. His reasons for being busy, was as simple as anything, paperwork. He wished to order some new weapon upgrade for his precious Nataku, and had to fill out about a bajillion sheets. As Aenne knocked him over, all the documents fell out of his had and collectively formed a huge mess.  
  
"Dammit!" He cursed as he fell. "Who do you think you ar--" He looked up and noticed Aenne. "Phe." He distastefully scorned her, looking in the other direction. Even though Aenne disliked him, she still was always very nice to people. And feeling sorry for him she went over to him.  
  
"Why don't you watch where you are going!?" Again he glanced up at her, but instead of Aenne coming up with the bestest come back, she just offered her hand to him. A look of disgust covered his face. "What!?" He hastily stood up, composed himself, picked up his papers and paced off.  
  
"Geez!" She muttered. "Next time I won't try to be nice." Disappointed, Aenne muddled off. Before long, she found her way into the cafeteria. Dou still ate silently at the far left table. Aenne rapidly grabbed some munchies and practically jumped into the bench across from him.  
  
"Hiya Duo-chan!!" She nibbled on a chip. "Sam says you wanted to see me about a certain mission?" She asked, smirking. "Operation: Toilet Paper Mr. Nataku!"  
  
"Yes, Yes!" He spoke up. "Everything is going perfectly.." He grinned with the same sneakiness that Aenne did. "Here!" He chucked Aenne a long black cloth.  
  
"Huh? Why do I need this?" She held up the black robe.  
  
"To go in stealthily and stylishly!" Dou exclaimed as they both laughed. Aenne slipped on the black trench coat type deeley and finished her food. "Ready?"  
  
"Almost, we need one more thing."  
  
"What?" Duo questioned perplexed. Aenne pulled out two pink ribbons from her pocket; she always kept them.in case of a hair emergency.  
  
"Head bands. You can't be a ninja without one." She handed Duo one of the ribbons. They both tied it around there heads and headed out.  
  
Along the path to the docking bay, the two confronted Heero (I seem to do that a lot), who sat on the ground typing away on his laptop. As they walked past him, Heero spoke up. "Where are you two headed?" He inquired in monotone.  
  
"Eep!" Aenne and Duo froze instantly, little sweatdrops forming on their heard.  
  
"Uhh.. Nowhere unusual.." Duo nervously alleged.  
  
"What's with the outfits?" Heero again spoke in monotone.  
  
Aenne responded. "Costume party?" Aenne gripped onto Duo's wrist and dragged him along before the totally got in trouble.  
  
Finally, they made into the docking bay. Aenne unpacked the toilet paper from Duo's backpack, while Duo flipped the switch to reveal Wufei's highly revered gundam, Nataku. Since the robes had little hoods they pulled them over there heads and the stepped up to the huge fighting machine.  
  
"One question. How do we TP it?" Aenne gazed upward, finding the gundam to be extremely tall.  
  
Duo responded with one comment. "Throw really high." And thus the fun commenced. They happily enjoyed doing the evil deed. Of course, they thought this to be the most hilarious thing. "Teeheehee!" Aenne giggled her cute laugh, while Duo chuckled his manly laugh. After about twenty minutes of exciting graffiti, the door swung open. Wufei stood in the light; he had come to visit Nataku (one out of like thirty a day). He looked up and saw the shocking crime. His eyes then averted from his gundam to the two criminals.  
  
"HEY!!!!!"  
  
The two stopped, knowing they landed themselves in deep shit. "Fuck." Duo swore.  
  
"YOU CRIMINALS SHALL PAY WITH MY FISTS OF JUSTICE!!!!!!!!!!! SHOW YOURSELVES SO THAT I MAY DESTROY YOU!!!!!!!!!" Not the justice bit again.' Duo thought. He glanced over at Aenne. "Aenne! I'll distract him, you run away." Duo whispered to her.  
  
"No! I'm just as much guilty as you!" Aenne pleaded.  
  
"No! You'll go!!" Dou knew that since he and Chang were friends, Wufei would go easier on him. And, Aenne, well, she would have felt the wrath of Chang Wufei. Duo turned around facing the enraged pilot.  
  
"But-" Aenne continued to plead.  
  
"Go!" Duo tore off his robe, revealing himself.  
  
"MAXWELL!!!!!!!!!" Wufei bellowed. While he screamed, Aenne took the opportunity and fled. "WHAT DID YOU DO TO MY CHERISHED NATAKU!?!?!?!"  
  
"Well..you..uh see..ummm." He tried to think of an excellent excuse for everything. Wufei did not want to hear a single word.  
  
"Shut up Maxwell and get the hell out of here." Duo listened and hopped out of the docking bay. Wufei was about to turn around when a flash of color caught his eye. It came from the pile of black clothes. He slowly marched over to the heap of black and saw the pink ribbon. He gently picked it up and held it in the palm of his hand. He looked at it for a few seconds and then violently crushed in his hand.  
  
Chang stormed down the hallway, pink ribbon in hand. He thought to himself. 'Only two people could be responsible for this: Sam or Aenne.' At the mere thought of Aenne, he clenched the ribbon even more tightly. He stormed up to Aenne and Sam's room and pounded on the door.  
  
"Ahhhhhhh!" Aenne screamed, "He is here for me."  
  
"No, I'll take care of it, just lay flat on the top of the bunk." Sam said calmly, "I'll take care of him." Sam then walked to the door and opened it slowly, but not all the way. "Yes?" She asked staring coldly at Chang.  
  
"Was it you?!" He yelled.  
  
"What are you talking about?" Sam inquired.  
  
"You know what I am talking about." Chang said still angered.  
  
"No, I don't." Sam returned, "You need to calm down and tell me."  
  
"Where is she!" He yelled trying to thrust the door open.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Aenne! I know you are protecting her."  
  
"You have to get through me first." Sam said opening the door.  
  
"No Sam, don't!" Aenne yelled.  
  
"I don't fight women." Chang said demeaningly  
  
"Oh, that's to bad ..." Sam said sarcastically, "Because I fight men!" She threw a punch at Chang and hit him square in the face. Her punch was going to leave a mark, a big one at that. Instantly Chang flew backwards. landing squarely on his butt. "Ha!" Sam said in triumph, "That will teach him!"  
  
"Sam!" Aenne yelled, "You're my hero!"  
  
"Sam, do you think he is going to be okay?" Sam asked.  
  
Sam looked down at Chang's almost lifeless body. He was in a state a pure shock. He stared up at his conqueror rubbing his face where Sam hit him.  
  
"Aenne!" he said loudly, "You are weak. The weak don't deserve to fight!"  
  
"Get off your high horse and get out of my sight before I have to give you another beating." Sam said still looking down at him. With that said, she went back into her room and closed the door, thus ridding herself, and Aenne, of Wufei. "Now Aenne, you are going get to sleep. We have a mission tomorrow and we will not fail."  
  
"Okay Sam, my hero." Aenne said in return. She got down from Sam's bunk and returned to her own. As she laid down she thought to herself, 'Wow, Sam is so cool! The look on Chang's face was--' With that she fell into a chasm of sleep. 


	3. Chapter 3

Sam woke up bright and early at 0600 hours to ensure that she would be ready, that and she had to undertake the task of waking Aenne, a mindless sleeper. That night, Aenne had tossed and turned in her sleep kicking off all her covers on the floor. Tactically, waking up Aenne was risky. You had to find a way to wake her and not be in her waking wrath at the same time, but Sam was more then ready to take up the task.  
  
Sam crept over the floor, then reached out with her hand and reached out and shook her shoulder forcefully. Aenne turned away from Sam not actually awake. Carefully, Sam shook her shoulder again. This time Aenne rolled over kicking Sam in the central crotch area. Wincing in pain, she was ready to try one more time, but this time to took another approach. Sam had one bag, and in it was her favorite item in the whole world, a blow horn. She retrieved the item and blasted it in Aenne's ear.  
  
"What the hell!" Aenne screamed.  
  
"Time to wake up." Sam said quietly.  
  
"Did you have to wake me up like that?" Aenne asked a little pissed off.  
  
"Yes." Sam said plainly.  
  
"Sam! Why didn't you just tackle me?"  
  
"Because when I tried, you kicked me."  
  
"I did?"  
  
"Yes." Sam said again.  
  
"Oh well." Aenne said shaking off the subject entirely. She turned her attention to her luggage, all 12 bags worth. "What should I pilot in?" She asked Sam.  
  
"Try the suit hung up on the wall?" Sam replied.  
  
"Oh yeah ..." Aenne mumbled still not used to being awake.  
  
"I'm going to head out. I want you to meet me in the docking bay at 0730 hours. Got that, 0730 hours." Sam said directly in eye contact with Aenne.  
  
"Um ... Aenne trailed of, "What time is that exactly?"  
  
Sam quickly rolled her eyes and answered with, "Seven thirty."  
  
"I knew that!" Aenne yelled. She watched Sam walk out of the door. She looked at the suit that was hung on a single hook next to the bear dresser. It was long and pink with a helmet and various hoses on extend from it. 'How am I ever going to get it to work?' She thought to herself. She figured she would have one of the other pilots help her, except Chang. She went to the food room to grad a bite to eat. She didn't want to pilot on an empty stomach. Her eyes drifted around the room and focused on the window. Looking out she saw the bay, dark from the sun not yet rising to greet her.  
  
Ever so slowly she made it to the docking bay. She was a little more then apprehensive about going knowing two things. The first was that this was her first mission and she wanted to make a great impression and second, this she had to face Chang. She wondered if he was still upset. Who was she kidding? Of course he was going to be. Never the less, she went.  
  
Inside the docking bay was a sea of confusion. Seven Gundams were standing side-by-side awaiting their pilot. It was overwhelming even for the experienced pilots. Aenne located Sam and Duo who were taking about the weakest point of the opposing force. Aenne didn't pay much attention to what they were saying and waited until they were finished to say anything.  
  
"Has anyone seen Chang?" She asked quietly.  
  
"Nope." The both said in unison.  
  
"Well then ..." Aenne said a little relieved. She inched away from Sam and Dou who found another topic to discuss on. Slowly she made her way to her Troublewind. As she looked at how it towered before her, she came down with a true sense of responsibility. Will all the power this Gundam contained, she would have to control it, in turn, controlling herself. Emotions could cause mistakes and she could not afford a mistake.  
  
Chang made an entrance into the large room. Everyone received looks of evil from him. He walked straight up to Aenne and her gundam. "You are weak!" He yelled loudly drawing attention to both himself and Aenne. "The weak don't deserve to fight!"  
  
"What?" Aenne replied meekly.  
  
"You are weak!"  
  
"Hey!" Sam yelled, "Cut that-"  
  
"No, Sam." Aenne said determinedly, "I will solve this myself." Sam gave her a look of confidence that Aenne had never seen before. Aenne looked Chang dead in the eye. "I am not weak." She said. "I am not weak!" She repeated even louder.  
  
"Then why did Sam fight for you?" Chang asked sneering.  
  
"I was afraid." She whispered.  
  
"What?" He asked intensely.  
  
"I was afraid!" She yelled, "I can fight you now! I am stronger then you! And you know it!" This comment took Chang by surprise. He could not figure out where such inner strength came from.  
  
"I don't fight women." He repeated the phrase from last night.  
  
"Or is it you don't fight strong women." Aenne shot back busting his ego.  
  
"You are not worthy to fight. I won't waste my time on you." He began to walk away when Aenne stopped him by grabbing his arm and spinning him around.  
  
"What do you think you are doing?!" He yelled, "You don't want to fight me."  
  
"Obviously, she does." Duo said interrupting such a serious moment. Sam had a hand on his shoulder calming him. Neither of them wanted to see Aenne get hurt. "Hmm." He made a sound before standing in a fighter stance. Aenne nodded and formed one of her own. She stared him straight on and waited for him to make his first movement. He began with a high kick, which Aenne blocked with ease. She blocked each of his movements, never to take too light to the situation. Chang steadily grew more furious with ever block. With anger comes stupidity. It was a lesson Aenne was never to forget.  
  
The spar continued until Aenne found an opening. Chang threw a punch, Aenne blocked it, but then flipped him over. Duo and Aenne watched in awe and Aenne lifted him over her head, then threw him on the ground. He landed flat on his back. Aenne stood over him with a solemn face.  
  
"I am weak." He said quietly, "I don't deserve to fight."  
  
"That's crap!" Aenne yelled, "You have to fight! You have to make yourself stronger!"  
  
"I don't deserve to fight." he repeated.  
  
"That's just great!" Aenne said turning her back, "You have no integrity! You mean to tell me I wasted all that time!"  
  
"That's great and all, but we have to leave in five minutes. Get in your gundam and let's go." Sam said over her.  
  
Aenne looked back up at her gundam and felt a new pride. Sam watched her board Troublwind. She looked at Duo and showed with a smile how proud she was of Aenne. He returned with a smile of his own.  
  
Once aboard their Gundams, Aenne and Sam fired up the engines and sped their way out of the docking bay, headed towards their first battle. They flew in the dark sky, just greeting the sun to a beautiful day. Sam took a short moment to stare at the sunrise. She watched as the light reflected off of Aenne's gundam. She punched up her screen and connected to Aenne. "Are you ready?"  
  
"Yeah!" Aenne shouted.  
  
"Promise to be careful." Sam said.  
  
"I will." Aenne reassured her.  
  
The pilots came to their destination, a military training base. All the pilots were connected to each other. Quatre was to the first to say anything, "Remember not to get carried away. Try to limit causalities." The five pilots sped ahead leaning Sam and Aenne behind.  
  
"Don't worry, " Sam said over her P.A. to Aenne, "As long as we are here, they will survive."  
  
The battle started. A line of standard Leo and Aries suits sent a barrage of shots at the speeding pilots.  
  
"Whoa." Dou stated, "This is heavy."  
  
"Duo, take the left." Quatre commanded. "Trowa, I want you and Heero to supply cover fire for Chang. I will attack from the right. We'll meet in the middle."  
  
"Roger." They all said in unison.  
  
Duo flew left, landing behind his enemies. He lifted his scythe and slashed down destroying three Mobile suites with a single blow. He moved to his next target, destroyed it. Then moved on taking many soldiers with him. "This is almost to easy. I'm sure that the five of us were not needed.  
  
Heero foolishly used his twin blaster rifle against his enemies. He wiped out legions with a single shot. His weapon was soon over heated, and he was limited to his beam sword. Trowa used his many rifles to clear the way. He was forced to use all his bullets and missiles, but he had successfully limited the number of enemies.  
  
Quatre took the weakest flank, allowing him to plan and watch the other pilots. Enemies soon overpowered him. Chang, however, destroyed the commander then was soon caught in crossfire.  
  
"They failed. Do you see the mistake Aenne?" Sam asked quietly. "They cornered all the Gundams. I knew this would happen."  
  
"No!" Aenne screamed. "Sam do you see that!" Lights flashed across the targeting screen showing new enemies.  
  
"Yes." Sam said. We have to destroy them!" A squadron of carriers flew overhead and dropped hundreds of mobile suits. "Aenne!" Sam yelled, "Take out as many carriers as you can. I will attack the dropped forces. Their lives depend on us now."  
  
Aenne extended her weapon and flew to a carrier in the process of drooping suits. She was above it, and slashed it in half. "What about the other pilots?" Aenne asked.  
  
"They will have to take care of themselves. We can't do anything for them on the ground." Sam said between breaths. "All we can do is fight carriers."  
  
Aenne turned to destroy another carrier causing a exposing to envelope her. "How many are left?" She asked panting.  
  
"You have three more. There are 100 suits to a carrier. They must not be allowed to drop them all."  
  
"Understood." Aenne yelled. She targets the nearest carrier and shot a blast from her concealed rifle, but it had already emptied all the mobile suits, as had the remaining two. "I must destroy them!" Aenne yelled in rage. She lifted the katana and destroyed the reaming two with one deadly blow.  
  
The dropped suits were set to target Heero. Being limited to just his sword, their was no way he could defend himself. Sam flew low, blasting with her flamethrower around her. She flew through the explosions and drew her beam sword. It caught the back of some unfortunate soldier attacking Heero from the back. Heero took no notice and returned to his own battle. Again Sam blaster her flamethrower, but this time, she protected Quatre.  
  
Aenne flew low, slashing everyone in her path. Chang wasn't going to be able to stand much longer. Aenne flew up to him and recklessly destroyed all the suits battling him.  
  
"What are you doing woman?" He shouted.  
  
"I'm saving your pathetic life!" Aenne shouted back.  
  
"I don't need saving by a woman." He yelled back.  
  
"That's too bad." Aenne said destroying another suit. "Because without me, you would have died."  
  
She flew off in the opposite direction leaving Chang in a daze of confusion. He couldn't find any other enemy. When he looked around, all he saw was a useless battle. He stood still in his gundam. "I am weak," he whispered to himself. Sam and Aenne quickly finished off any strangling mobile suits leaving the battlefield empty. All that reminded were the charcoaled surroundings. The base was in disrepair. Dismembered suits lie around the seven gundams.  
  
"Aenne," Sam said quietly. "It's over."  
  
"We did it!" Aenne shouted happily. "Our first mission."  
  
"Great job Aenne." Duo said. "You did good."  
  
"Yeah," Quatre said, "We couldn't have done it without you."  
  
"Let's go back now." Duo suggested.  
  
"Yeah!" Aenne still said excited. She powered her engines up and sped away, followed quickly by Duo and Quatre. Sam, Heero, Trowa, and Chang let themselves me left behind.  
  
"That was fatal." Trowa said. "They have pinpointed our weak points."  
  
"Yeah." Heero responded.  
  
"We will just have to be more careful." Sam said.  
  
"We?" Heero asked.  
  
"We can't afford another mistake like that." Trowa said.  
  
"No." Heero responded. He transformed himself into bird mode and left. Trowa took point and left too. Chang and Sam were left.  
  
"I am weak." He whispered.  
  
"No," Sam said. "You need to fight to become stronger. This battle was pointless. It accomplished nothing. OZ sent a message. They want us to know that they know how to destroy us. Fight to become stronger and you will be able to defeat OZ." Sam went into bird mode as well and left Chang to his own battlefield.  
  
"That's right." Chang said to himself. "My enemy is oz. Not myself." He followed the others and returned to base.  
  
* * * * * * * *  
  
"Where is Sam?" Aenne asked confused. "She didn't come back with us?"  
  
"She'll be here." Duo said smiling. "But for now, I think I'm going to go lay on the beach."  
  
"The beach?" Aenne said with intrigue. "Can I come?"  
  
"I don't see a reason why not." Duo responded. Duo looked over and saw Quatre standing all alone. "Hey! Quatre come with us." A smile spread across his face and he nodded.  
  
Thus the three packed up all they could find in the plain, dark, damp military base type thing and set off for a new mission, to have tons-o-fun! Surprisingly, Aenne had packed along a beach volleyball set and a whole bunch of cool nifty sand castle building toys. (Hey ya never know when they could come in handy!) Quatre made his minions bring along a picnic basket full of delicious, scrumptious food. Dou packed..well, Dou helped Aenne pack up for the side trip, which was practically a full suitcase full. After they packed, the next thing on the agenda was clothes. Aenne changed into a jean pair of shorts, a pink tank top, cool pink flip-flops, and a pair of pink sunglasses sat upon her head. Quatre switched from a pink long sleeve button up shirt to a nice silk white short sleeve button up shirt. Duo changed into a black tee, black shorts, and the spiffiest black shades ever, still going with the whole dark God of Death theme. Afterwards, they all met in front of the base.  
  
"Now, who will drive us?" Quatre questioned innocently.  
  
"You!" Aenne pointed to him. "Quatre you drive!" Aenne and Duo piled everything into the back of the jeep with army-deco.  
  
"There done!" Duo clapped his hands in satisfaction. He looked over at Aenne. "Princess Aenne, shall I escort thee to the carriage?" He said, again offering his arm.  
  
"Yes!!" Aenne gladly took Duo's arm. "To the carriage!" She exclaimed.  
  
Quatre hopped into the driver seat (I dunno how he can drive, but he can.) while Duo and Aenne loaded into the back seats. The blonde turned on the radio to some classical station, and the two in the back challenged each other to thumb wars. After a while of driving, the bunch made it to the perfect place on the beach.  
  
By now it was around one in the afternoon. The bright sun caused the heat to reach a scorching ninety-eight. The pure blue ocean water rolled in and out like the ebbing time. Only a few trees seemed to sprout out from nowhere and the beach itself was empty, while besides the three pilots. As Duo stepped out of the jeep he stretched out his arms. "Finally! We made it!"  
  
"YEAH!!" Aenne sprang from her seat and leaped out of the car. "The beach!! Fun!!" She dashed to the back, piled as many things as she could into her arms and set out to find the most perfect place on the beach. Aenne wandered for the equivalent of two minutes and dropped everything on the sand. She dusted off her hands as she peered out on the beautiful scenery. Quatre followed her and soon stood next to her.  
  
"Wow!" He stated in amazement. "The beach is.it's so beautiful! Why don't people understand it's just so beau-" Duo clasped his hand over Quatre's mouth, trying to avoid another "beautiful speech".  
  
"Yes, yes we all know." Duo paused. "Why don't we get everything set up for when the others join us."  
  
"But how will they know were we are?" Quatre inquired. "We didn't tell them."  
  
"No worry, I just left a note on Sam and Aenne's door. They'll come eventually."  
  
Aenne felt so excited. First she help completed the mission and now a party at the beach, it could not get any better at this moment in time. She screamed out in elation. "YES!! I'm taking full control of this mission! Duo! Quatre!" Aenne commanded. "Get the table!!" She pointed to the jeep.  
  
"Huh!?" The boys both looked at Aenne in utter confusion. "What are you talking about?"  
  
"Uhh.." Aenne smiled sheepishly. "I mean go get the rest of the stuff out of the car. I'll set up everything and you just relax...after you get the stuff." They did just that. Aenne set down a row of beach towels and chucked the umbrellas into the sand, for a little shade. She also built the volleyball/badminton set. Shockingly, they had actually packed along a table, to set the food on I guess. The rest on the random implements laid on the nice pattern of towels. "Done!" She looked over her achievements proudly. "Anyone hungry?"  
  
"Sure." Duo said as he lay down in the sun with his shades on. Aenne unpacked some munchies and a few pops. She opened them and sat down beside him. "Thanks." He smiled up at her.  
  
"So, uh.. Duo.." Aenne tried to start a nice conversation. "What's with the braid? It's so prodigious!"  
  
"I just have always had it." He sipped his soda.  
  
"Must take forever to do! I have long hair too, but not as long as yours, but still it takes such a long time!"  
  
"Not really. It takes no time at all!"  
  
"Really?"  
  
He laughed at Aenne's response. "Sure, let me show you." Duo grabbed a hold of Aenne's blonde hair and started braiding. Meanwhile, Quatre was still admiring the gorgeous beach with all its wonder.  
  
"There ya go." Duo said as he finished.  
  
"It's perfect!" She marveled at her hair but soon a frown spread across her face. "I miss Sam!!" Aenne pouted. "She should have been back by now! What if alien cows attacked her!"  
  
"Don't worry, I'm sure she'll be here soon along with everyone else." Duo assured her.  
  
"I don't care about anyone else! Sam should be here!!" Aenne crossed her arms, still pouting.  
  
Seeing Aenne so adamant about Sam not being there, he decided to try to get Sam off her mind. He picked up a bucket, went over to the ocean, scooped up some salty water, walked back over to the pouting girl, and poured it over her head. Immediately, Aenne stood up and then glared evilly at him.  
  
"Dou Maxwell!!"  
  
"What?" He questioned with innocence.  
  
"You are SO dead!!" Aenne picked up another bucket, filled that up with water and stated chasing Duo. "I'll get you!!" She roared. Soon this whole mess erupted into a huge water fight. Somehow Quatre even got involved; I think it happened when Aenne kicked some water on his back. The water fight lasted quite some time, that is until everyone was drenched and then some.  
  
Within the next few minutes(after the water fight) another army deco jeep pulled up in the sand. Aenne recognized her buddy and instantly ran towards the vehicle. "SAM!!!" She went to go hug her lost friend.  
  
"Don't touch me, you're wet!" Sam backed away from her soaked companion.  
  
"I know! You just missed the bestest water fight!! It was so much fun!!"  
  
"How immature." Chang stood up from the jeep.  
  
'Oh joy.' Aenne thought.  
  
Duo ran up to join the reunion, smiling. He was completely drenched. Sam quickly smiled at Duo then looked at the stern face that hung on Chang.  
  
"Sam, are you going back now?" Chang asked with uncertain calmness.  
  
"Not until you finish with what you came to do." Sam said with a small smile.  
  
"Thank you." Chang said directly to Aenne.  
  
"What?!" Duo said completely shocked. "I have never heard him say 'Thank you' for all the time I've known him. What did you do?" He asked.  
  
"My life." Chang said quietly. "She saved me."  
  
"What?!" Dou exclaimed even more loudly. "Did you really Aenne?"  
  
"Yes." She said blushing. "I really did."  
  
"That's amazing." Duo said still taken aback. "I never thought I'd ever see anyone save Chang's life."  
  
Aenne continued to blush, while Sam got back in the jeep. "Are you going to come back with me?" Sam asked Chang.  
  
"No, I'll stay here." he said looking to the bay. His eyes were lost in search.  
  
"Suit yourself." Sam responded. She turned on the engine.  
  
"Sam! You can't leave! You just got here!" Aenne yelled in protest.  
  
"I am really tired." Sam said quietly. "I really would just like to sleep." "Oh," Aenne said disappointed. "Could you at least stay a little while? Please?" Sam never could say no to Aenne's pleading. She turned the engine off and stepped out of the jeep.  
  
"And I thought I was weak." Chang whispered.  
  
"At least my life doesn't have to be saved." Sam whispered back.  
  
"Sam, let's go build a sandcastle!" Aenne yelled grabbing her hand and pulling her back down the beach.  
  
"They sure have some spirit." Duo said to Chang as they watched their backs.  
  
"Yes, they do." Chang said back. "But do you think they are ready for such a hard life."  
  
"What do you mean?" Duo asked concerned.  
  
"Sam and Heero got orders. They leave this evening." Chang said.  
  
"What?" Duo said shocked. "Already! She just got back. What about Aenne?"  
  
"Only Heero and Sam." Chang reinforced.  
  
"What will we do?" Duo said quietly. "It just seems to sudden for Sam."  
  
"She will do fine. She can handle it." Chang turned and walked away, following the road up to the top of a hill. At the top, he stood looking out at the sea and glanced down at Sam and Aenne. They were to innocent to be Gundam pilots. Quatre was sitting cross-legged on a sand dune not far from where Aenne and Sam were attempting to build the likes of a sandcastle. Duo remained by the jeeps still in shock.  
  
"Okay Aenne, we made a castle. I really do have to go now." Sam said getting up. "I really am very tired." She walked back to the Jeep, staggering over sand dunes.  
  
"Wait!" Aenne said running up to her. "I'll go back with you."  
  
"No, stay here and have some fun." She motioned up towards the hill, "Chang has been watching." Aenne blushed at the mention of Chang. "What's that? You're blushing!"  
  
"I am not!" Aenne yelled in defense.  
  
"I would never think you would go for a young one like him." Sam said with a giggle. "I was thinking you and Duo, not you and Chang."  
  
"Will you stop? I do not like him!" Aenne yelled again in protest.  
  
"Hmm ... that really is a shame." Sam said.  
  
"Why?" Aenne asked.  
  
"Because he seems to like you." Sam left Aenne on the happy thought and finally made it to the jeep where Duo was standing.  
  
"I hear you got another mission," He said solemnly.  
  
"Yeah, I did." Sam said looking down. "I would appreciate it if you didn't tell Aenne. She doesn't need to know."  
  
"I get you." He said looking out toward Aenne who was sneaking up on Quatre with a bucket of water. "Watch this," he said pointing. They watched as Aenne dumped the cold seawater on top of Quatre.  
  
"That's my Aenne!" Sam said with large smile. "She gets it from me."  
  
"Are you going to be okay?" Duo asked looking into Sam's eyes.  
  
"Yeah, why wouldn't I be?" Sam said.  
  
"I just think this is really sudden for you and Aenne, especially with you leaving on another mission."  
  
"I can handle it," Sam said quietly. "While I'm gone, keep her occupied for me. I don't want her to worry."  
  
"I can handle it," Sam said quietly. "While I'm gone, keep her occupied for me. I don't want her to worry."  
  
"That much I can do!" Duo said enthusiastically. Duo opened the jeep door and was shocked when Sam let him treat her with kindness. Sam stepped in and turned on the engine.  
  
"Bye Aenne!" Sam yelled waving. "I'll see you later tonight."  
  
"Okay!" Aenne said running away from Quatre who was chasing her with a bucket full of water. Sam shook her head and drove up the hill and stopped where Chang sat perched.  
  
"You want a ride?" Sam asked.  
  
"No, I think I'll stay here," he replied.  
  
"I hope you enjoy the view." Sam said finally before driving back to the base. 


	4. Chapter 4

When she got back to the base, she went straight to the kitchen. She was starving. Inside, Heero was sipping a cup of coffee with his back to the door. Sam gathered some food out of the refrigerator and sat down across from him. Sam quickly searched his eyes. He looked up at her and stared into her eyes in the same fashion. They understood each other perfectly without any words. The rest of the time Sam spent in there was in silence. When she did leave she went back to her room. She stepped up to her bunk then came crashing to sleep.  
  
Sam awoke when Aenne stepped into the room, "Hiya Sam."  
  
"Hi Aenne. How was your time at the beach?" Sam asked.  
  
"It was great!" Aenne exclaimed. "I had so much fun!"  
  
"That's good." Sam paused. "What time is it?"  
  
"The clock says eight-thirty." Aenne replied.  
  
"Oh no!" Sam yelled getting out of bed. She ran out of the room down the hall to the docking day to see Heero just board his gundam.  
  
"We're leaving." He said in monotone. Sam took no notice and boarded her Gundam. She quickly powered up the engine and followed Heero.  
  
They left in silence, well if you consider the engines roaring and the bay doors shutting securely quiet. The stars twinkled while the moonbeams peered down on the base. Aenne sat alone on her bunk; it had been about fifteen minutes since Sam had rushed out. She figured that Sam had forgotten something but it took too long. Aenne did not want to disturb anything so she decided she would wait a while longer, until Sam came back. She sighed as she laid her head on her nice feather pillow.  
  
Another half an hour passed before Aenne got extremely lonely and worried. "Sam where are you!?" She pondered to herself as she got up from the bed. "You just couldn't of disappeared like that!" Aenne opened the steel door and strolled down the hall. "Maybe she got lost.." The blonde giggled as the thought of Sam wandering throughout the base came into play. "No, she's not that stupid." Aenne then decided to go ask the guys; possibly they knew some information on the whereabouts of her buddy. Before long she reached the men's quarters. The first metal door owned a panel that read 'Quatre and Trowa'. Aenne skipped this door 'cause Trowa scared her. The second room held one person, Chang Wufei. She was about to bang on the door, when she recalled Sam's words. Again her face turned red and she moved to the last section, Duo's and Heero's. "DUO!" She thought excitedly. "Duo was talking with Sam right before she left the beach.he could know something." Aenne politely knocked on the door as she felt like Sam was never coming back.  
  
Duo, who had "sacked out" for the night, quietly flipped through a book on his bed. He heard the knock and jumped up. "Coming!" He gently opened the door and saw Aenne standing there. Her eyes swelled up with water, but she held back the tears. "Aenne.."  
  
"Do you know where Sam is?" She sniffled.  
  
"I might.." He confessed.  
  
"Really!?! Where!? Where is she!?" Joy restored her voice and her face. "You havta tell me!! Please!"  
  
"Well.She went shopping." Duo lied, but he promised Sam. And Duo never ever broke his promises.  
  
"Shopping?" Aenne queried, perplexed. "What for? Why would Sam go shopping? She does not shop unless she needs something. But then she would have been back by now. And why WOULD Sam need to go anywhere? Everything is either here..or in my suitcases." Aenne babbled trying to explain to herself why Sam was missing. "Maybe..Maybe someone kidnapped her while she was shopping!! What if that happened? Then I'd never see her again, and we'd havta put up Missing signs all over the base, with money rewards! And I'm not rich!!" Aenne cried. And of course all of this was said at a record of 6.4 seconds.in other words.really really fast!  
  
"Aenne." Duo interrupted. Aenne stopped chatting and blankly looked up at him. "Ok, so Sam's not shopping."  
  
"Oh." An expression of relief mixed with fear came over Aenne.  
  
"I promised not to tell.."  
  
"Tell me!! I won't tell Sam you told me! And if she finds out tell her I beat it out of you!! With a shovel!"  
  
"Ok.but don't say a word."  
  
"Boy scouts' honor!" Aenne pledged.  
  
Duo leaned over and whispered in Aenne's ear. "She's planning a party for you." He had to cheer up his friend.  
  
"Huh? A party? For me?" Aenne stated, shocked. "Why?"  
  
"I dunno. But she looked real busy when she left." Duo confirmed his idea. "I betcha it's gonna be huge!!"  
  
"Ha!! Sam's a sly one!! Trying to keep a secret party like that from me! HAHA!!" Aenne fell for it, hook, line, and sinker. It was probably for the best though; knowing that Sam was somewhere dangerous would just make her all gloomy and depressed. "Duo? When is Sam gonna come back?"  
  
"She told me not for a few hours. I'd give anything to be you right now. Lucky!" Duo chimed.  
  
"Don't be so glum, chum! Hehe that rhymes! I'll let you come to my party! And I'll even let you hit the piñata! This is a piñata, right?"  
  
"Yep!" Duo grinned. "Sam told me there would be three of them."  
  
"I'm so excited!! I can't wait!!" She jumped up and down in anticipation. "We have to do something to pass the time. But what.." Aenne brooded over the many options of things to do at a time like this. 'Strip poker!' Aenne thought but quickly disregarded it. "I got it!"  
  
"What?" Duo asked, wanting to know.  
  
"We could play bored games! I brought a ton of them! Stay here!" Aenne rushed out of his room, ran down the hall, went to her room, grabbed a bunch of different games, dashed back to Duo's room, and plopped the games down on the floor. "Look! I have checkers, cards, jenga, (you member jenga!) Jurassic Park the game, monopoly, clue-"  
  
"Clue!! That's the bestest! It was Colonel Mustard with the candlestick in the kitchen!"  
  
"Speaking of the kitchen.." Aenne grinned sneakily. "I be back!" Again Aenne dashed down the hall, only to the kitchen this time, picked up a whole bunch of candy and soda and ran back. "Sugar!" Duo smirked in return. Just by the sound of it, Duo, Aenne, and sugar could create a vortex to hell.  
  
********  
  
Heero and Sam arrived at a base. Sam knew what to do. She powered her Gundam down to nothing but a small light in the cockpit, and the intercom system. Then, she waited, in complete silence.  
  
Within minutes, the she heard the blast. In her Gundam Heero image flashed up and she heard the words, "Mission complete." The alarm went off and in a scurry the command officer foolishly sent Mobile Suits out to capture there would be terrorist.  
  
"Your suites will not survive," a masked man said quietly. "This is the work of the Gundams. You are going to be destroyed."  
  
"Can't you do anything?" a man randomly yelled.  
  
"I'll go out on the Tallgeese." The man masked man said again.  
  
"I've destroyed all the suits." Sam said to Heero.  
  
"Return to base." He said. Sam just turned her back when she saw a new enemy. A target flashed across the screen. She pulled out her beam sword and faced her enemy.  
  
'The suit Tallgeese.' She said to herself. 'I never thought I would have to fight that.'  
  
'A new suit,' the masked pilot thought. 'I was hoping for a new challenge.'  
  
Sam didn't want to make the mistake for making the first move, so she stood defensively until he made the first move. He thrust his beam sword at Sam. She dodged upwards, then forced her way down, beam sword first. He blocked her, and they stopped there at a standstill.  
  
'This pilot is quick.' He thought.  
  
'He's strong.' Sam thought. Then she drew back and faced her like before. This time, she attacked first. Her shot was blocked with ease and counter-attacked.  
  
"No!" Sam screamed caught off-guard. She barely blocked it. "He's too strong!" She swung her sword frantically trying to keep the Tallgeese away. The pilot of the Tallgeese took advantage to Sam's mistake. His sword almost caught her in a deathblow. He stopped short on purpose.  
  
Sam stared in fear, sweat dripping down her brow. She powered down and stepped out of her Gundam.  
  
'What?!' The pilot of the opposing gundam thought in surprise. 'A woman?'  
  
"I surrender." Sam said tiredly.  
  
"Get out of here." The other pilot said stepping out. Sam looked at the man in surprise taken back by his command. Sam didn't think twice about what she was doing. She got back in her Gundam and flew away, fear still running down her neck.  
  
********  
  
The fun and games extended well into the night. A couple times, Chang came and yelled at them for being way to noisy. "Maxwell!!! Schumann!! Shut up!!!" Trowa also implied that the two were causing an unwanted ruckus. Around one in the morning Aenne came to the conclusion that one very silent pessimistic pilot was not there.  
  
"Hey Duo, where's Mr. Heero? He hasn't been in his room all night."  
  
"Uhh." Duo afraid that Aenne was catching on, averted the subject. "He's probably typing away on that computer, so what do you want to do next?"  
  
Aenne looked up at him very innocently. "Tell me a story."  
  
"A story?"  
  
"Mm!" She nodded in agreement and journeyed to Duo's bed and placed herself on it. "A happy one, where nothing bad happens." Aenne stole his blanket and wrapped it around her self.  
  
"I dunno." He scratched his head. "I've never been good at telling stories."  
  
"I don't care. A story is a story."  
  
Convinced, Duo started. " A happy story...Well let's see..Once, long ago, there lived the God of Death, who by far was the most prodigious....."  
  
By the time Duo had finished, Aenne had fallen asleep and was snoring quietly on his bed. 'Great! What about me!? What about Duo?' He thought. 'I guess I'll just sleep on Heero's bunk, he won't be back for a while.'  
  
Suddenly, the bay door opened and the two gundams flew down into the base. Heero leaped from WingZero and quietly walked off. Sam, on the other hand, sat a while in hers before climbing down. She stumbled into her room, it had been a long, stressful night, and poor Sam had not gotten a wink of sleep. Aenne had left her buddy a huge note in pink marker. 'I'm at Duo's! Go there! NOW!!!' Even though Sam could barely stand up she felt like she had to go see her buddy. She staggered to Duo's room and noiselessly opened the door.  
  
Aenne, and her sixth sense, could tell that Sam was back. "SAM!!" She opened her eyes and pounced on her friend. "You're back!!"  
  
"Yes.Yes I am." She rubbed her eyes. "But now it's time for sleep."  
  
"Sleep?" Aenne questioned. "What about the fiesta?"  
  
"Fiesta?"  
  
"Ya, you know, the huge party you were planning for me."  
  
"Party!?" Sam glared at Duo. "What DID you tell her?"  
  
Following Sam, Heero walked through the door. "Mr. Heero?" Aenne glared at him in confusion. "What are you doing in Duo's room?" There came a pause. "Oh right you two share a room!" Heero just looked at Aenne, emotionless. "So where is he?" Aenne repeated.  
  
"I don't know." He closed the door in her face.  
  
"Hey!!" Aenne started pounding on the door. "You let me back in!!! Right now!! Stop keeping Duo to yourself!!" The door did not open. "Sadness.." Aenne turned around, her head hanging low. "How am I supposed to go back home with out Duo?"  
  
"What about me?" Duo stood in front of Aenne. He had a towel dropped over his head. By the looks of it, he had just finished taking a shower.  
  
"YEAH!" Aenne jumped up in enjoyment. "It's Duo!!"  
  
"The one and only!" He grinned.  
  
"So, Duo.I was wonderin'.actually Sam and I was wonderin' if ya wanna come home with us? Just for a vacation. 'Cause I'm sure our friends are missing us and it would total spiffiness if you could come." Aenne explained the plan.  
  
"I dunno.." Duo scratched his head, thinking. "Please!!" Aenne begged. "You just havta come! If you won't I'll be miserable forever!" Aenne started to pout cutely. She crossed her arms and looked like a sad puppy.or at least tried to.  
  
"Geez." He sighed. "I'll come."  
  
"JOY!" Aenne ran back to Sam to tell her the bestest news. "Sam! Sam! Sam!" She shouted.  
  
"What? What? What?" Sam answered.  
  
"Duo's coming! He's gonna come home with us!" Aenne trotted over to her suitcases and started to repack.  
  
"Don't pack everything!" Sam warned. "We'll be coming back."  
  
"I know that!" The blonde stated proudly, as she continued to pack. Soon she looked in interest up at her friend. "Say Sam..How was that mission of yours? I mean what happened? Anything explode like this..KABOOM!!" Aenne made little motions of her hands to signify a mushroom cloud.  
  
"Nothing special.." Her words faded.  
  
"Nothing special!?" Aenne shot back. "Waddaya mean? I think it's oh so special to go on a mission all by yourself!"  
  
"Heero came too." Sam said in a gloomy mode. "It really wasn't that big of a deal. It's done."  
  
"Well to me it's a huge deal! What if something would have happened?" Aenne worried.  
  
"Well nothing did happen!"  
  
Aenne dropped it. There was no use fighting with Sam, she did not want to talk about it. And Aenne would not bring it back up. "We get to go home!! Everyone will praise me and worship me!!" She said changing the subject to a happier theme. Sam just stood; in silence she contemplated about the past battle. She had a burning desire to find out who the strange man was.  
  
"You about done?" She asked her buddy.  
  
"Done!" Aenne chirped. "You get Duo! I'll carry my stuff to the gundams. Meetcha there!"  
  
Sam stepped down the long corridor, her mission to find and 'kidnap Duo'. She gladly accepted. She kindly knocked on Duo's and Heero's door. "Come in!" Duo shouted.  
  
"Hey Duo! We are leaving in a little bit. You ready?"  
  
"Yep Yep!" Duo grabbed his black cap and placed it securely on his head. "Let us be off!!" The two traveled to the docking bay. They met Aenne, who was sitting on the foot of Troublewind. Once she saw her friends, the blonde jumped into her gundam and buckled up.  
  
"Hurry up you guys!" She shouted to them.  
  
"I'm coming!" Sam shouted back.  
  
The two other prodigious pilots booted up their gundams and within seconds all three were flying high in the sky. Upon endless hours and hours of flying, they made it home, all in one piece. The landed their Gundams in a forested area, like the rest of Portland, hiding them from the rest of the world (see! Nowhere near any city/airport). They quickly leaped from the mechas and met on the ground.  
  
"Wait a sec." Aenne contemplated, confused. "Why are we out in the middle of a forest?" Aenne questioned.  
  
"'Cause," Sam explained, "OZ is trying to kill us."  
  
"We havta keep it on the D-low!" Duo added.  
  
"Ok." The blonde paused. "So how far are we from civilization?"  
  
"About an hour's walk." Sam responded.  
  
"Let's head on out!" Aenne clinged to Duo as their journey began and Sam on the other side. Aenne hummed some incomprehensible tune, while Duo leaned over to Sam.  
  
"She's very 'clingy', isn't she?" He said, referring to Aenne. Duo did not really mind, he was just wondering.  
  
"Yeh," Sam agreed. "But you get used to it."  
  
They walked the walk and talked the talk for nearly the entire hour; most of it was Aenne's random squabble 'cause she does it a lot. But they survived it (including the random duck attack..but I won't go there.). They had reached intelligent sings of life aka civilization.  
  
"FREE!!!" Aenne shouted at the top of her lungs. "We're free at last!!"  
  
"Well Duo," Sam said spreading her arms, "This is home. It's not much, but it's what we got. The first thing we need to do is steal a car." Sam said looking around.  
  
"Or," Aenne said with infliction, "We could call my dad and he could pick us up in the Van."  
  
"That isn't any fun." Sam said crossing her arms. "Despite what we do, we need to be careful. There are Oz soldiers here. Don't be fools. If my dad caught wind, I'm not sure I could convince him to spare us. Especially you, Duo."  
  
"What does that mean?" Duo asked.  
  
"My parental unit in a retired general of Oz, but he still has influence. I think that is why I was chosen. He taught me all about the 'dangers' of Gundams, I know your weaknesses better then you know do." Sam said looking away.  
  
"Then what is my weakness.?" Duo asked critically.  
  
"Your cloaking system over heats your main power drive," Sam started solemnly, "in cloak mode, a shot to the engine would disable you."  
  
"I don't believe it." Duo said astonished. "What about Heero?"  
  
"His Twin buster rifle overheats to quickly, limits him to a beam sword, and it is possible to defeat him. You should know this by now. Did you even wonder why in out first battle they defeated us? They don't know the weaknesses of Troublewind and HellfireDevil."  
  
"But how would they know that?" Duo asked.  
  
"That's just it." Sam said. "That information would have had to come from my dad ..." Sam stopped completely.  
  
"Come on! We have a car to steal!" Aenne shouted.  
  
"What about you calling your dad?" Sam asked.  
  
"I want to steal a car!" Duo shouted.  
  
"I thought you wanted your dad to pick you up." Sam continued.  
  
"I want to steal a car!" Duo whined.  
  
"I changed my mind. I'm allowed to do that." Aenne retorted.  
  
"I want to steal a car!" Duo said again.  
  
"Okay Duo! You are sure about this?" Sam asked Aenne. The rev of an engine stopped their intercourse. Duo sat in the front seat of a jeep smiling, proud of his work.  
  
"Looks like he got to it before us." Sam said to Aenne.  
  
"That didn't take him long at all." Aenne said, "I wonder if he'll teach me to do that?"  
  
"Just ask." Sam kinda whispered, "I get shotgun!"  
  
"Nuh-hu! I do." Aenne shouted.  
  
"No I called it!" Sam yelled back. She ran up to the jeep and put her hand on the car door. Aenne came next to her and pushed her out of the way. Sam retaliated and pushed back.  
  
"No fair!" Aenne yelled. "I get to sit next to Duo!" "No, I called it!" Sam said pushing against Aenne with all her might. The fight elapsed for several moments. Aenne won in the end. She sat joyously in the front, scaring Duo half to death when she screamed whenever an 18- wheeler came thundering by. Sam was in the back seat, staring at the window. Up front, between screams, Aenne was telling Duo all about home. Sometimes she would point out the window and say something like, "That's where Sam and I went cow tipping." Duo would nod, then continue on, until a very good question came to mind.  
  
"Where are we going?" Duo asked.  
  
"To school so we can say hi to our brain bud." Aenne shouted.  
  
"What's a brain bud?" Duo asked.  
  
"Well you see, Sam and I share a brain, but we also share with Cary. That's why we always know how to get around the west hills." Aenne explained.  
  
"Okay." Duo responded.  
  
"Look at it this way," Sam intervened, "We are taking you to an all girls school. Five-hundred girls just looking for someone to pounce on."  
  
"You guys went to an all girls school?" Duo asked with intrigue.  
  
"Yes, it's the bestest except for the devil class!" Aenne yelled.  
  
"Devil class?"  
  
"Yeah" Sam said, "The evil class of Mrs. McCarthy." Aenne shuddered at the mention of the evil teachers name. Sam was untouched as if she were in another place. Surely enough, they reached the steps of the small school.  
  
"School!!" Aenne said happily but soon realized the sadness of it all. "Oh.school.not more of it!" She looked back at Duo. "How are we going to get him in?" She asked Sam.  
  
"We could dress him up!" Sam stated..a little too joyful about that.  
  
"Uhhh.." By Duo's groaning, it was confirmed no.  
  
"Well, we could go find Cary and then steal her away from the school and then leave." Sam suggested.  
  
"But we can't leave him all alone!" Aenne concerned. "What if they attack him? Someone needs to protect him!!" Aenne said, trying to be all manly by putting her hands on her hips with her nose sticking high into the air (all I need now is a cape!).  
  
"Good idea." Sam agreed, putting her hand on Aenne's shoulder. "You go find Cary and I'll wait with Duo."  
  
"But.but.but." Aenne stammered. Sam just motioned for her to 'go on'. She hung her head down low and stepped inside the school.  
  
There was something odd in the air, something bitter and dishonest. Or maybe she was standing too close to the bathrooms. She moved on, sliding against the walls, singing the theme song from mission impossible. She wandered down the hall and by mistake ran into Sr. Pat.  
  
"Anne (she calls me that)." Sr. Pat beckoned. 'Uh-oh! I'm in trouble! I don't like being in trouble! Sam!! Help me!!" But, seeing as how Sam could not read minds, she did not help Aenne. She followed the nun back to her office and silently stepped through the doorway. "Yes?"  
  
"Come. Deliver these for me." She handed Aenne about five of six sheets of paper. "Thank you." Aenne was shooed out of the office and sent off doing secretary work. Meanwhile..out in front of St. Mary's..  
  
"Geez..your school is..really small!" Duo exclaimed.  
  
"Yeh, well that's what you get when you go to an all girls catholic high school!"  
  
"Is it fun or anything?"  
  
"Not really, I mean no exciting missions.unless you consider surviving Mr. Jones' class a mission."  
  
"Mr. Jones?" Duo looked very baffled.  
  
"Nothing, forget I said anything!" Sam paused. "What is Aenne doing!? She's taking so long!"  
  
"Talking to friends?" Duo questioned. "Eating?"  
  
"Oh-no!" Sam whispered.  
  
"What?" Duo queried on confusion and unease.  
  
"We have Pepsi in the cafeteria!! She better not be buyi---" Sam was cut off by a huge BOOM!  
  
"What was that?"  
  
"I dunno Duo, but if it's what I think it is..we need to leave right away!" The two hopped back into the stolen car, and started up the engine. "Hurry up Aenne!" Sam murmured.  
  
Aenne had just finished delivering the last note. 'I can't even read that woman's handwriting!' She sighed. 'Now to find Cary!' With a whoosh, Aenne darted off to the Spanish classrooms to find the third part of her brain. She trotted up to G3 and opened the door. "Hola!" She spoke her third language (English and Japanese being the first two..no comment.) Cary instantly saw her buddy and waved; Aenne waved back. "Sr. Pat nesicitas Cary por un minuto, por favor! *Sr. Pat needs Cary for a min. thanx*" She told the teacher.  
  
"Si." And the teacher continued to teach the wonderful Spanish.  
  
"Cary!" Aenne shouted when the door closed.  
  
"Aenne! I'm so glad to see you!"  
  
"I have a present for you!!"  
  
"Really!? Really!? What is it?"  
  
"Sam!!! Come on we gots to go!" She dragged Cary down the hall and over to the escape door (the one that never goes off). In front of the door stood two burly looking men. They wore OZ uniforms and their guns aimed at the girls' heads. 


	5. Chapter 5

"AH ah ah!" One of the soldiers mocked. "Good little girls don't skip school." He cocked the gun.  
  
"Where the hell did they come from?" Aenne muttered.  
  
"Shit!" Sam exclaimed. "Duo stay here. Get ready to leave tracks."  
  
"Gotcha." He said with a thumbs up.  
  
Sam stepped out of the jeep went to the escape door. She heard Aenne tell Cary to calm down. Sam would take care of everything. Cary stood perfectly still, until Aenne jumped one of the men, stripping him of his gun. Sam on the other hand, attacked from behind. Then two men were left beat on the ground.  
  
"Sam!" Aenne exclaimed looking up.  
  
"We got to go." Sam said coldly.  
  
"What?" Cary said confused and astonished by her two friends.  
  
"Duo is around the corner." The three girls ran to the jeep, Aenne and Cary shuffled in the back seat, Sam jumped in the front. "Go!" Sam yelled to Duo. He quickly pulled out on the street and raced to the highway.  
  
"Okay, okay ..." Cary said trying to comfort herself.  
  
"It's Oz." Sam said to Aenne. "They must know we are here."  
  
"How could they?" Duo asked.  
  
"I don't know." Sam said. "Oh, Cary, Duo. Duo, Cary."  
  
"Pleasure." Duo said smiling at Cary through the mirror.  
  
"What are we going to do?" Aenne asked.  
  
"We should hide." Duo said. "We can't risk our Gundams." "What?" Cary said wide-eyed. "Gundams? What are you doing with Gundams." Aenne looked up at Sam with concern. Sam looked a head up at the road leaving Aenne to make a very important decision. Duo watched through the rear-view mirror.  
  
"Sam and I were chosen to be Gundam pilots." Aenne said quietly.  
  
"What is he?" She said pointing to Duo.  
  
"He's a pilot too." Aenne replied.  
  
"Our top priority is to ensure Cary's safety. I will not allow her to be harmed on account of us." Sam said protectively.  
  
"I agree." Aenne started. "Her safety over ours. Duo, you will help of course?"  
  
"Of course." Duo said smiling. "I could never let anyone hurt such a petty girl."  
  
"Where are we going to hide?" Sam asked.  
  
"Why not at my place?" Aenne suggested.  
  
"Your parents will go for that?" Sam asked.  
  
"Why not a motel?" Duo asked pitching in.  
  
"No molah." Aenne said.  
  
"We could at my house." Cary said. "You could crash in the basement."  
  
"Even Duo?" Sam asked, looking back at her.  
  
"Yeah!" Cary said. "He could be like one of the girls." Duo groaned at the idea.  
  
"Okay then its settled." Aenne said smiling, "We are off to Cary's!"  
  
Eventually the came to Cary's house and piled in the basement. Cary sprawled out on the couch, Aenne and Duo crammed into the chair and Sam got the floor, all to herself. They put on some DBZ videos and watched them into the wee hours of the night. Aenne and Cary fell asleep easily. Duo and Sam couldn't.  
  
"How did they find us?" Sam asked.  
  
"I don't know, but we have to leave." Duo responded.  
  
"In the morning, I want to go home. I will need you come with me." Sam said frightfully.  
  
"What for?"  
  
"Recon, now lets get some sleep." Sam rolled over and pulled her blankets over her head. They both fell asleep, ready for a tough tomorrow.  
  
Duo and Sam woke up early and left before Cary and Aenne woke up. They proudly drove their stolen jeep to Sam's house. Inside the house, which Duo broke into (He's so talented), they found files among files of information on the Gundams. Duo looked astonished as he gazed on the statistic of his Gundam, things only he would know.  
  
"My father is obsessed with the Gundams. He thinks they are the perfect machines." Sam said looking through files.  
  
"I don't get it, why?" Duo asked.  
  
"He thinks he is a perfect soldier." Sam replied, "or at least he was, until he was defeated by Treize. That is why he sided with him, to become stronger. I got what I came for."  
  
"What do you have there?" Duo asked looking at was in her hands.  
  
"The files on Aenne. I won't let him destroy her." Sam said. "Now, all I have to do is reformat his hard drive." She sat at the computer and transferred all his information onto a disk, then she turned it off. "Lets get back to Aenne. We should bring her and Cary a surprise."  
  
"Like what?" Duo asked. "I don't know." Sam said smiling. "I don't have any money."  
  
"We could always filch something.." Duo slyly hinted. "Something big and prodigious! You know them better than I do.what would they want?"  
  
"Unless you can find a Buddhist monk and a super sajin." She paused. "I know!! Since Aenne and Cary act almost the same way, they both got the same part of the brain, they both like fuzzy things!" Sam suggested.  
  
"Fuzzy things.." Duo thought of what he could steal. "Kitties! I'm sure they'd love little kitties!" Duo proposed eagerly.  
  
"But where are you going to find cats?" Sam doubted this little scheme would work.  
  
Duo pointed over Sam's head, to a nearby store. "Over there! See there.it says 'free kittens'. We can just walk over and get two."  
  
"You can do it. Kitties don't like me, and I don't like them." Sam opened the door to the stolen vehicle. "I'll wait here." Sam shut the door and stuck the key in.  
  
"I swear she had a cat in her house." Duo murmured to himself as he ran over to the people that were giving away free kittens. "So, can I have two?" He asked shyly.  
  
"Take as many as you want." The lady spoke in a low not caring voice.  
  
"Ok." He stared deeply at the little kittens. He watched the six little animals play and pounce on each other. Each was a different color or colors, yet they all had the same innocent expression. He looked sadly at the poor kittens that lived in a box.  
  
"DUO!!!" He heard Sam shout for him to hurry and choose. His eyes glanced over every one, the gray and white one, the black one, the snowy white one, the tri-color, the light brown one, and the orange tabby. There were too many and it gave Duo a headache. He could not take it anymore; he picked up the box and dashed back to the car. "How many did you get?" Sam inquired.  
  
"Six..." Sam frowned at him. "But they all needed a home.and well I couldn't just leave them there!!" He picked up the pitch-black kitty and showed it do Sam. "Meow (hehe.Duo meows...cute!)! He says..I wuv you Sam!"  
  
She smiled at Duo, who was trying his best for Sam to accept the animals. "Fine, gimmie that one." As Sam picked it up, he meowed lovingly. "I'll name you Killer.no wait that's too popular.how about Death! That's your name! Hello Death." Since Sam had to drive, she placed the kitty back in the box.  
  
After a while they came back to Cary's house. Aenne was still sleeping, and Cary had just woken up. They walked down the stairs and Cary greeted them.  
  
"G'morning!" Cary yawned. "Whatcha have there?" She pointed at the box.  
  
"A present." Sam stated.  
  
"Ooh!! Ooh!! What is it!?" Cary peered into the box. "Kitties!!!" Cary squealed. "Which one is mine?"  
  
"Whatever one you want." Duo responded. Cary picked up the chubby orange tabby.  
  
Duo looked over his shoulder to see if Aenne had gotten up yet,...nope. "Hey, Aenne's still asleep! I'll go wake her up." He kindly offered.  
  
"Uhhh..." Sam warned him. "I wouldn't if I were you."  
  
"Why not?"  
  
"Last time I did that, she kicked me! And it was not fun! At all!" Sam counseled Duo. "Beware the morning wrath of Aenne!! It could kill."  
  
"Oh come on." Duo disagreed. "She can't be that bad."  
  
"Uh-huh.." Sam looked at him dumbfounded. She could not believe that Duo was actually going to try to wake up Aenne. This was going to be funny..and painful for poor Duo. "What your plan?"  
  
"You'll see." He smirked. Duo picked up the little white kitty with the gray blotches. He crawled over to where Aenne lay asleep and put the kitty next to Aenne's head. The kitten strutted up to her face and started licking it.  
  
"Uhh.." Aenne groaned as she started to wake up. "Stop it.." She mumbled. ".stop it Cha-" She abruptly opened her eyes and sat up. "WHAT!?! I-I-I-I DIDN'T DO IT!!" She shouted, frightened. Aenne glanced over and saw the little fuzzy thing and her facial expression totally changed. "KITTY!!!!!" She squealed even louder and higher pitched than Cary, as she huggled the creature. "It's so adorable!!! Can I have it!?" She looked up at the hovering people.  
  
"What wrath?" Duo questioned Sam.  
  
"I've gotta think of the perfect name for you!!" She petted and little cat and it purred happily. "It'll be the bestest!"  
  
"You were so lucky!" Sam laughed. "You are as lucky as a dime."  
  
"I'm just cool. I've got charm."  
  
"Ducky!!!" Aenne giggled. "Your name is Ducky!"  
  
"Well use your 'charm' to go calm down Aenne so we can leave." Sam advised.  
  
Duo once again went over to Aenne. "We are going to leave soon. Be ready!"  
  
"Oh I will!" Aenne jumped up and ran over towards Sam. "Look Sam!! Kitty!"  
  
"That's...nice.." Sam inched away from her hyper friend. "You really should be ready soon, we must leave before OZ finds us."  
  
"Yes." Aenne answered.  
  
"Aenne?" She looked up at Sam awaiting the question. "Whom exactly were you dreaming about?" Sam grinned.  
  
"Ugh!" The blonde turned deathly pale before blushing a cherry red. She quickly faced the other direction and hurried off. Duo stepped over to Sam.  
  
"What was that about?"  
  
"Nothing." Sam replied. "What are we going to do with Cary? If she comes with us she'll be in danger and if she stays, she'll be in danger too."  
  
"I don't know." Duo said frowning. "I think that we should leave it up to her."  
  
"Okay," Sam said quietly, "I have to protect my brain buddies."  
  
"Okay, I have been meaning to ask about the brain buddies thing." Duo said in confusion. "I just don't get it."  
  
"It goes like this," Sam explained. "It started with just Aenne and I. We declared that we shared a brain. Then Aenne was being random one morning after having a Pepsi and declared that Cary shared a brain too."  
  
"Uh-huh." Duo said looking oddly at Sam.  
  
Aenne then came around the corner. "I'm ready to go."  
  
"Just a minute. We have to ask Cary something." Sam stated.  
  
"Hey Cary!" Aenne yelled, "Get your butt down here!"  
  
"Okay! Okay! I'm coming." She said coming down the stairs with an ego in her mouth. "What is it?"  
  
"We have to make an important decision." Duo said.  
  
"Do you want to come, or go." Sam asked.  
  
"Uhh ... Cary trailed off. "I don't know."  
  
"Why don't we make things easier." Duo said. "We'll flip a coin. Heads for staying, tails for leaving."  
  
"Sounds good to me." Sam said.  
  
"Okay, step back." Duo commanded. He flipped the coin up and caught it, the placed it on the back of his hand. He peeked under then smiled. "Tails!" He shouted.  
  
"Yay!" Aenne yelled. "Pack a bag then we'll go." Cary ran out of the basement, down the hallway to her room.  
  
"That makes things a bit more complicated." Sam said to Duo. "Now we just can't fly the Gundams. We need a carrier."  
  
"That means we have to infiltrate the base." Duo said. "One of us will have to be a distraction and the other have to fly the Gundams in the carrier."  
  
"Then I'll provide a distraction, you will pilot the carrier and Aenne will be in charge of Cary. That way if something happens, we can all escape." Sam said while thinking aloud. "It will work itself out."  
  
"Gotcha. The mission is, escape with carrier." Duo said dramatically. (can you say Heero moment)  
  
Cary packed two bags with her. She threw them in the stolen. Duo was driving. First they had to drive to the Gundams. This time they had a jeep so the didn't have to walk for an hours time, or face the evil ducks. They arrived at their Gundams.  
  
"Wow, which one is yours Aenne?" Cary asked.  
  
"Mine is the blue one. It's called Troublewind." Aenne replied. "Sam's is the red one called HellfireDevil."  
  
"Mine is the black one." Duo said smiling. "It's called Dethscyth Hell. I call it buddy for short."  
  
"Okay, I'm going to go a head and create a distraction. Aenne you get to lookout for Cary. Duo is going to steal the carrier. Cary, we really don't have a place for you, so that mean Aenne is going to have to carry you. So that means you have to extra careful. Got it? Meet me at the base in ten minutes." With all the said, Sam boarded her Gundam and flew away.  
  
"It's going to be all okay. By the time Sam is done with the base, I doubt there will be anything left." Aenne said smiling. The ten minutes passed quickly when Aenne Powered up Troublewind. "Okay Cary, hold in tight." They flew to the base, Duo taking head. Aenne had her rifle out armed and ready for some butt-kicking. When they arrived at the base, Sam had her flame-thrower out and was ferociously attacking all the Mobile suits. She was constantly doused in flames. Sam connected to Duo and Aenne, showing where the main hanger was.  
  
"Okay Aenne, lets get out of here!" Duo said descending.  
  
"Gotcha." Aenne said responding.  
  
When they landed Duo's first priority was to make sure Cary was secure in the co-pilots chair. Then he loaded up the two mobile suits and made ready for Sam's.  
  
Sam was busy making sure there would be no threat to the carrier. She destroyed all the mobile sits and other weapon that could be used against them. She eventually found herself in the main hanger then in the carrier with Cary, Aenne, and Duo. They left soon left the base in a pile of rubble.  
  
After a while all four traveled back to the home base. Aenne sort of felt down and depressed. She really did not get to say hi to all her bestest friends, but next time she would. Sam worried about what was going to happen and how she was going to protect everything. Cary still was utterly confused. And Duo, well...Duo pondered about the kitties and the evil duck attack.  
  
"Geez..crazy ducks! I think OZ mutated them to come attack us! The nerve!!" Duo cursed OZ, as he vowed to get revenge for the evil duck plot. "Curse you!"  
  
.....Anyway, so it had been about three seconds after all the gundams/carrier landed and the pilots had jumped out, three other gundam boys walked through the steel door.  
  
"Hello." Quatre shyly greeted.  
  
"Quatre!!" Aenne ran over to him. "How's my favorite blonde..besides myself?" Aenne said unusually cheerful.  
  
"Don't mind her." Duo commented. "She's had sugar." A look of relief and fright spread over his face. Trowa instinctively came over.  
  
"Let's go." Trowa muttered. Quatre looked up at the banged brunette and then at the rest of the crew. "We must go fix our gundams, pardon." He trotted out of the docking bay, Trowa close behind.  
  
Cary took in everything, well everything that could be taken in, the steel plain walls and the he empowering gundams. She soon noticed a fine pessimistic fellow leaning up against the wall, his face looking down. Cary ran over to her buddies. "Who's that guy?" Cary whispered, pointing to Heero.  
  
"Him? Oh that's Mr. Heero." Aenne answered.  
  
"He's really secluded, not much of a talker." Sam pointed out.  
  
"But-But-But he is so gorgeous!!" Cary squealed in happiness.  
  
"What!?" Sam and Aenne looked at their companion perplexed.  
  
"I love him..." Cary got starry eyed, and imagined herself running in a field of daises toward Heero, who was also running towards Cary. "Heero.."  
  
"Oh no!" Aenne whispered to Sam. "Poor Mr. Heero! This could be bad." Sam nodded, as Cary stepped over to her newly found love.  
  
"So...uh..I hear your name is Heero."  
  
"So."  
  
"So, Heero is such a cool name and you are a gundam pilot aren't you?" She questioned kindly.  
  
"If I told you, I'd have to kill you." Heero spoke like he always did.  
  
"Oh!" Cary paused. "So..you wanna show me around this place?"  
  
"No."  
  
"But I know you would!!! I can see it in your eyes! You're just dying to take me!" Cary persisted.  
  
"No."  
  
"Please!!!" Cary begged.  
  
"I'll kill you."  
  
"Ok!" Cary grabbed Heero's shirt and dragged him away. "Let's go show me around!"  
  
"Uhhh..." Sam looked at Aenne, bewildered. "That was...interesting.."  
  
"Yes, Yes it was." Aenne shortly paused. "Hey where's Chang? He's never here in the docking bay." She pondered.  
  
"Except for when you're TPing Nataku." Sam commented.  
  
"Quiet you!!" Soon afterward, Sam and Aenne hiked back to there room. Somehow Aenne managed to pack both their kitties along (I found a kitty-carrier!). Aenne went over to her bag and took out Ducky. "G'day Ducky!" She cooed to the kitty. "How's you today?" She played with the kitty on her bed. "Where's you friend Death? Hmm?" Death had jumped up to the top bunk and started battling Sam's cotton blanket.  
  
"Go Death!!" Sam jeered. "You beat that blanket!"  
  
"Sam you're already training your kitty to be a vicious killer."  
  
"That's why I named him Death."  
  
Suddenly Duo pranced through the door. "Hello ladies."  
  
"Hey Duo!" The two said in unison. "What's new?" Aenne continued.  
  
"I have some bad news." He said solemnly, staring at the floor.  
  
"What?" Sam asked concerned.  
  
"It's another mission.." He trailed off.  
  
"So soon!?!" Aenne stood up, frustrated. "We just had one not less than three days ago!! Who do they think we are!?! We don't even get any slack!" Aenne punched her pillow. "It's not fair!"  
  
"How long before we leave." Sam looked pensively at Duo.  
  
"We don't leave till tomorrow at midnight." He responded, glancing back at Sam. He understood by the shade of her eyes that this was going to be serious. "OZ is going to attack a base..."  
  
"And we have to save it from being destroyed?" Aenne somberly questioned cutting off Duo.  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Who's going to go?" Sam asked, wondering if it had to be her again.  
  
"We haven't heard yet. All we can do is wait."  
  
"If that is all we can do," Sam said quietly, "Then that is what we will do."  
  
"Yeah." Duo said looking at the floor feeling bad about the mood he just put Aenne and Sam in. He jumped slightly up and down, then side to side. "Why don't we do something to pass the time?"  
  
"What is there to do?" Aenne asked.  
  
"I don't know." Sam said turning her attention back to Death. "We went to the beach, I have repairs to do on HellfireDevil, and Cary is busy with Heero."  
  
"That's it! We'll save Mr. Heero from Cary!" Aenne shouted in her happy high-pitched voice that reminded Sam of the Pepsi incident. "All we have to do is find them, steal Mr. Heero from Cary, then watch the fun. We'll call it Operation Heero Snatch!" "How do you propose to do that? You saw how Cary just flocked to him." Sam said with Death in a headlock.  
  
"Besides we don't know where they are." Duo said mockingly.  
  
"Yes we do." Aenne said slyly. "We share a brain. That means Cary can be in only one place-"  
  
"The food room." Sam said interrupting.  
  
"Exactly! Now lets got get him!" Aenne shouted heading for the door.  
  
"Wait!" Duo said in his sneaky tone, "We have to devise a plan first." Sam got down from the top bunk and huddled around Duo and Aenne. In hushed tones they went through several ideas before hitting the perfect idea. The first objective of Operation Heero Snatch was to kidnap Beaver pht pht.  
  
Cary didn't take her cat with her when she dragged Heero away, so that left only two places it could be, the carrier or the bathroom. First they searched the Carrier, but with no luck, found Beaver pht pht. He was in the bathroom, head bent over the toilet, drinking out of it.  
  
"That's a wonderful cat Cary picked out." Sam said with the "odd" look on her face.  
  
"Yep." Duo said in reaction. "I'm not going to carry that."  
  
"It's just a kitty drinking out of a toilet." Aenne said disparaged. "It won't hurt you, see!" She picked it up and thrust it in Duo face. It just licked his nose, causing Duo to yell "EWWWWWWWWW!!!!" Now the trio entered the second objective Operation Heero Snatch, distraction of Cary. 


	6. Chapter 6

The objective was simple. Duo was going to go into the food room and distract Cary with Beaver pht pht. Then the objective of Operation Heero Snatch would be to get Heero out of the room. This is where it all went wrong. When Duo got in to room, Cary flocked to Beaver pht pht, but tried to take him out of the clutches of Duo's arm, of course to make time for Heero's escape. Heero, being the melancholy person that he is, didn't leave the room, forcing Aenne and Sam to come in. That is when things really went wrong. The cat went psycho and jumped out of Duo's arms, onto Cary's head, knocking her over onto the floor. Heero didn't even flinch; he just stood there with his arms crossed. Sam and Aenne had to quickly jump in front of him, and pull him out of the room to complete the objective. However, Cary saw them do that between the legs of the cat attached to her face. So then, she wrestled the cat off of her and ran after Sam and Aenne. They were making speed down the hall, but made a wrong turn into the hall with the men's room. They had to pick a door, Quatre and Trowa's (shudders) Heero's and Duo, (too predictable) or Chang's. Obviously, they went into Chang's room and slammed the door behind them panting.  
  
"Good thing Chang wasn't in the room." Aenne said sighing.  
  
"Nope, I think you are wrong." Sam said averting her eyes. They're in front of Duo, Aenne, Sam and Heero was Chang, not wearing a shit, with a sword in hand.  
  
"Aw carp!" Duo said looking away too. "I don't want to see that!"  
  
"Uhh ..." Aenne said staring at him.  
  
"What are you doing in my room?" He said slapping the flat part of the blade against his palm.  
  
"We were-"  
  
"That's right." Chang interrupted, "You were just leaving."  
  
"Yeah." Sam said grabbing Aenne's shoulder. "We were just leaving."  
  
Everyone shoveled into the hallway, and for a minute were calm, until Cary came around the corner with her cat attached to her face. She spun around, staggered, ran into a wall, then fell to the ground a second time. Finally Beaver pht pht, let go and scurried off down the hall. Everyone had watched this with wide-eyes, snickering, as she stood up with her hair in a frizzed fray.  
  
"Are you okay?" Duo asked with concern. She glared at him with an evil look only Cary can give.  
  
"I'm fine." She said swishing her hair behind her. She looked at the four standing around her, and glared at them all. "Now, give me back my Heero!"  
  
"Take him!" Sam said pushing him forward.  
  
"I will!" She said grabbing his arm and pulling him along.  
  
Heero quickly looked behind him and whispered, "I will kill you all."  
  
"That was odd ..." Aenne said  
  
"Yes, Yes it was." Duo said back.  
  
Aenne, Sam and Duo retreated back to the food room, disparaged that Operation Snatch Heero came crashing down around them. Sam sat looking out the window. The sun was setting, at what seemed to Sam a snails pace. Aenne and Duo were sitting at the same table thumb wrestling. Sam could her over her own thoughts, the various catch phrases from the WWF. Aenne was drinking a Pepsi and Duo was on his normal high, so Sam was entertained for what seemed like hours.  
  
It wasn't until Aenne went off to bed that Duo sat with Sam. He walked over with a huge grin and a strut in his step. When he sat down, Sam didn't even take notice. She was too enticed with the glow of the orange sun reflecting of the water. Duo would cough and make funny faces with no results. As soon as Sam looked down at her coffee cup and noticed that she didn't have any, did she realized she had company table.  
  
"Whatcha thinking about?" Duo asked with honesty.  
  
"To be honest," Sam replied, " I was wondering why I had no coffee in my cup."  
  
"Would you like some more?"  
  
"Sure." Sam said looking up into his similar brown eyes. He smiled then left with her cup and like any good host, brought it back with him full. "How long have you had your Gundam?"  
  
"Oh, seems like ages." Duo said with a far off look. "I don't think I could imagine a life without my Gundam, but it sure would be nice not to have to fight."  
  
"Do you miss being in space?" Sam asked again.  
  
"It's my home. I would love to go back ... I was hoping I didn't have to go back to protect one."  
  
"I still don't understand why they chose two pilots from to earth to fight for the colonies. It doesn't make sense at all." Sam said looking back out the window.  
  
"I don't care why you were chosen. I'm just glad you were." Duo said smiling. "I mean, it's so much more fun with you and Aenne here. We have already become close, closer then any of the other pilots, with the exception of Quatre and Trowa. We have survived the cuteness of kittens and the evilness of ducks."  
  
"That is true. Those ducks were scary." Sam said smiling. "Hey before the next mission, we need to get a group picture. We all need a copy and we all have to put it in the Gundam, so we never forget who to protect." She looked out the window again but turned back when Duo caught her off guard with a question.  
  
"Yeah," Sam said quietly, "I would die for Aenne, but don't tell her that. She might cry and get all teary eyed then try to hug me to death."  
  
"Okay, what about me?" Duo asked.  
  
"What do you think?" Sam asked back.  
  
"I'm leaning towards yes."  
  
"Good, now I'm going to sleep. So I will see you in the morning. Goodnight."  
  
"'Night." Duo responded with a smile ands a small wave.  
  
Sam walked back to her room and climbed up onto her top bunk. She patted Death on the head then curled up herself and leaned into a deep slumber.  
  
The night was cold and clear, too clear. It was like the calm before the storm. But around four thirty in the morning Duo stomped into the room. "Sam! Aenne! Wake up!" He shouted; he had the very important news to tell.  
  
Instantly Sam got up, throwing the covers back energetically. At the same time, Death hopped down from the top bunk, where he was snoozing, went over to Duo's feet, and started sniffing them. "I'm up!" Sam stretched, as she walked over to her heap of clothes. She found a dark maroon wife- beater with her Hardy-boyz fishnet sleeves and her dark blue jeans. Duo turned around giving Sam some privacy, as she quickly slipped into her clean clothes. "Done."  
  
"Ok," Duo turned back around facing Sam. "We have to go-" He paused realizing Aenne still slept comfortably in her bunk. "First let's get Aenne up...then we'll go to the briefing."  
  
"You seem to have good luck waking her up, go ahead." Sam offered, secretly wanting Aenne to kick Duo.just to make it even.  
  
"Alright. I did it once, I can do it again!" Duo agreed, rubbing his hands together in determination. He grinned as he pulled back the pink curtains. Aenne slept on her side cuddling her pillow with Ducky lying on her head, both snoring (not loudly). "Ok Duo Man. You're not gonna get kicked today!" He encouraged himself. "Aenne!!" He said in his normal voice.  
  
"No..five more minutes." Aenne mumbled softly.  
  
"Well that worked." Sam stated sarcastically.  
  
He stepped over to the bedside and stood for a second. Stupidly he poked Aenne in the shoulder. Bad move. Aenne rolled over, and kicked Duo in his hip. He instinctively clutched his side in pain. "Damn that hurt!"  
  
"I said five more minutes." The blonde muttered.  
  
"Is she sleeping?" Duo asked, baffled. Sam shrugged, being baffled herself.  
  
"That is harder than I thought...I need something to grab her attention." He pondered long and hard before Sam had an idea. She whispered her plan into Duo's ear and a huge smirk spread across his mouth. "What did you say Sam?" He questioned mockingly. "You say there are shirtless Buddhist monks!? Right here in this room!?!"  
  
Immediately, Aenne's eyes shot open and she sat up (poor Ducky went flying). "Where!?! Where!? Where!?" She shook her head, searching for the monks. But not seeing any, and only Sam and Duo, she glared at Duo.  
  
"What?" Duo asked Aenne. "It was Sam's idea!" He pointed at her and Aenne glared at Sam  
  
"What!?" Sam asked Duo. "It was not!!" She shouted back in protest.  
  
"Yes it was!!"  
  
"No it wasn't!" Sam went over and head-locked Duo. "Say it wasn't my idea!"  
  
"Never!" Duo refused to give in.  
  
"Say it!" Sam tightened her arm, Duo still stuck in the deadly headlock. Sam won and Duo gave in.  
  
"Ok! Ok! I give up! It was my idea!!"  
  
Sam let go of little Duo, and glanced over at Aenne, who was not there. During their little fight, Aenne had crawled back into bed, and had fallen back asleep.  
  
"Oh great.." Sam and Duo sighed in unison. "Now what?" Duo queried.  
  
"Let's do this the easy way." Sam explained, walking over to her suitcase, pulling out the blow horn.  
  
"T-There was an easy way? And you didn't tell me about it?" Duo stuttered. Sam chucked it to him and told him to press the button. A huge disrupting sound followed, and woke Aenne up for the second time. She grumbled as she wrapped her blanket around her and shuffled over to her suitcases. Duo was going to say something to Aenne, but Sam warned him by putting her hand on his shoulder. She shook her head and pointed to Aenne, also included the finger swoosh across the throat. *translation: I wouldn't do that if I were you! Aenne will have your head on a silver platter if you say anything while she's not totally awake, especially if you were the one to wake her up* Aenne pulled out her other pink tank top and her faded blue jeans. She grumbled some more as she shuffled back to her bunk and shut her pink curtains. Minutes later, the curtains reopened and Aenne wearing new clothes.  
  
"Morning Aenne!" Duo greeted her.  
  
"EH!?" Aenne evilly stared at Duo, she looked at him like she was saying 'oh-no! You did not just do that!!'  
  
"..Or.not." He trailed off.  
  
Aenne found her Ducky, picked it up, and started petting it, which brightened her dreary morn. Sam started a conversation.  
  
"So, Duo and I talked last night and we decided that all three of us should be in a picture, and we'd all get a copy."  
  
"Really?" Aenne asked, surprised.  
  
"Yep, just the three of us."  
  
"Yeah!" Aenne traveled back to her suitcases and pulled out a Polaroid camera. "Here!"  
  
"Does she have everything in there?" Duo whispered to Sam.  
  
"Let's go find someone to take the piccie!!" She ran outside the room and down to the guy's corridor. Now she had the hard decision to choose which one to take the pic. Chang was a no, not after what happened yesterday. Heero, no, since he threatened to kill them all.and she still worried over Cary. There were only two people left. "Quatre!!" Aenne shouted to the door. "Quatre!!"  
  
He opened the door and popped his head out. "Yes?"  
  
"Quatre? Ya wanna take a picture of me, Sam and Duo?" She asked, one blonde to another.  
  
"Sure, why not. I have some time to kill till Trowa comes back."  
  
Aenne sprinted back to her room with Quatre. "I got someone!" She proudly exclaimed. Sam handed Quatre the camera, as they got ready to pose. Duo wrapped his arms around both the girls' waists (he's such a playa) and Aenne held up the peace sign.  
  
"Alright! Everyone say flamingos!"  
  
"Flamingos!" They all smiled and Quatre took three pictures.  
  
"Perfect!!" He commented. Each one grabbed a copy and waited for it to develop. The blonde left with that, and the others still waited.  
  
"Quatre was right!! It was perfect!!" Aenne remarked happily.  
  
Sadly, Duo interrupted. "Yes, but now we must go to the briefing...I have a felling were a little late."  
  
"Yeh, we must find out who gets to go." Sam agreed, as the three filed out the room. They journeyed to the briefing room and walked in. All the pilots solemnly looked down and there was a somber expression in the atmosphere. By the way the room was, the three already knew, they had been chosen for the mission.  
  
"Okay ..." Sam said oddly, "Let me guess, Duo, Aenne and I have been chosen to take on the mission which mean almost certain death for us all."  
  
"Yep." Trowa answered.  
  
"That's just great!" Aenne yelled. "Almost certain death is bad, very bad!"  
  
"No, it won't be certain death." Duo said smiling. "We are the best of friends, se we have to protect each other. If we do that, we will live forever!"  
  
"What are the mission objectives?" Sam asked. "See for yourself." Trowa said handing her the report. "I can't tell you much." He walked out of the room as Sam flipped thought the report.  
  
"Well?" Aenne asked.  
  
"Simply put, the three of us are to protect a base in China. It seems that Oz is going to use it as target practice for their new mobile dolls."  
  
"What?" Aenne asked. "What does that mean exactly."  
  
"That means we blow up mindless machines." Duo said sighing. "It's a pointless battle, but if we fail, the colony will suffer worse then death."  
  
"There is one more thing you must know." Heero said solemnly. "Why you are in space, Quatre and Trowa will be taking Cary to the Sanc kingdom on request of Duo." Sam nodded her head as Duo left.  
  
"What is the Sanc kingdom?" Aenne asked.  
  
"It is the kingdom that Relena Peacecraft started. She will be safe there." Duo answered, "What else does the report say?"  
  
"Well, it also says we have to leave in half an hour." Sam said quietly.  
  
"Half an hour!" Aenne exclaimed, "I can't get ready in that much time."  
  
"Then we will have to go without you." Sam said back.  
  
"No! You can't do that." Aenne sad sadly, " I have to be there to protect you! If I don't who will?"  
  
"I would." Duo replied.  
  
"You can't do that. You have to protect me!" Aenne said in protest.  
  
"I'll do that too, if you get ready to go." Duo said smiling, "Now git" Duo commanded, pointing out the door.  
  
"You get ready too." Sam said looking at Duo intently. "It won't don't us any good if you aren't ready either." She followed Aenne out the door and back to the room. She slapped on the piloting suit required space. That whole lack of air and vacuum but would cause a problem if they got stuck in it. Aenne and Sam both got ready at about the same time and got to the loading dock before Duo.  
  
"Haha!" Aenne laughed, "We got here first!"  
  
"Yep, you sure did." he said smiling. "Have you ever been to Asia?"  
  
"Never," Aenne said excited, "I can't wait to be up there."  
  
"I haven't been there either." Sam said loading herself into HellfireDevil. "I was hoping I wouldn't have to."  
  
"It can't be that bad." Duo said assuringly, "After all, Chang is from China."  
  
"That's right!" Aenne said excitedly. "Chang may be from China, but he doesn't compare to Duo."  
  
"I know," Duo said brushing his hair back. "I am a superstud."  
  
"Don't I know it." Sam said rolling her eyes. "We must be going. We can't be late. Oz will not wait for us."  
  
"Gotcha!" Aenne said getting into her own Gundam. "I can't believe they aren't going to say goodbye to us." Aenne pouted.  
  
"Don't be a fool and kill yourself." Someone said breaking the silence.  
  
"Good advice." Sam said.  
  
"Who said that?" Aenne yelled.  
  
"Nevermind," Sam said, "lets go."  
  
"I wanna know who said that!" Aenne screamed.  
  
"You know," said Duo, "Sometimes I think the blond really gets to you."  
  
"Shut up Duo." Aenne shouted, "Now lets go kick some butt." Aenne took out the picture they just took and placed it below her targeting screen in front of her. She looked down at it, jaunt prior to powering up, and made a promise to never let her buddies down. Sam placed hers in the same place, as did Duo. The trio fled out of the docking bay. The flight was quiet. Aenne looked out of her gundam using the viewing screen. She watched as her Gundam flew above the clouds of a bluish tint. She found herself in a delight of cotton that reflected the purity of the sun. The beauty didn't have time to sink in before her thoughts were disrupted by a distress call.  
  
"Help ... we're being attacked ... send ... help-" The distress call ended with a stream of fuzz.  
  
"Let's go!" Duo said speeding towards the nation.  
  
"Wait!" Sam yelled in his wake, "If you rush in it will lead to destruction."  
  
"Shit!" Aenne exclaimed. "Sam hurry, we have to protect him." She pushed her Gundam to the limit trying to catch up to Duo. Aenne charged her rifle and blasted any one around her. Sam didn't charge in, instead she stood back and realized the danger Duo and Aenne were in.  
  
What Duo didn't anticipate was the second line of mobile suits waiting to attack, but the suits were slightly different. These suits had the data taken from previous battles programmed into them. If Sam wasn't careful she wouldn't be able to protect her friends. When she looked down, she saw the picture they just took. Aenne's face would always remain so innocent with that moment, and Duo would always be are free. She took one last look before realizing how dangerous her mission just became. 


	7. Chapter 7

"You okay Duo?" Aenne asked with her Gundam's back to his.  
  
"Yeah, just shaken up." He replied.  
  
"There's so many!" Aenne yelled, "Can we take them all?"  
  
"Their mindless," Duo said pausing, " We can take them all. If Sam would help it would make it a lot easier."  
  
"What do you mean, what's wrong?"  
  
"Sam isn't fighting." Duo said quietly as if his words would hurt Aenne.  
  
"What? She better get over here or I'm going to kick her butt!" Aenne screamed.  
  
Sam stood watching as Aenne and Duo destroy suit after suit until nothing was less. Then their anger turned on her.  
  
"Why didn't you help?" Duo asked angered. Sam did not answer.  
  
"You were supposed to protect me!" Aenne screamed. Sam did nothing but turn her Gundam.  
  
"What won't you say something?!" Duo yelled.  
  
"Goodbye." Sam said choking back tears. She blasted her engines and spin away to the second line. They shot a barrage of blasts at her. Her Gundam pursued on as Sam looked determinedly at the picture in her Gundam, Aenne's innocence, Duo's happiness. A tear escaped from her eye and she landed surrounded by Mobile suits. She pushed a button and red flashed around her.  
  
"What is she doing?!" Aenne screamed, "She is going to get herself killed."  
  
"No!" Duo screamed, "No don't be a fool!" The two watched as her Gundam grew a blood red glow then exploded taking out all enemies around her.  
  
"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!" The two stunned pilots screamed.  
  
"No..." Aenne could feel her eyes swell up with tears. "No..." They rolled down her cheeks and onto the remorseless controls. The horrid shock prevented her from saying anything more. She looked on as she saw her friend fly from the explosion, like a useless toy a child doesn't want anymore. She watched her buddy land, with both a thud on the ground and a thud in her heart. Aenne could not move, she wanted to leap from TroubleWind and rush over to her friend's side..she couldn't. Nothing, not an inch, all she could do was watch and cry. Helpless. Sam tumbled over and over, before the friction slowed her down. Again, Aenne felt the burning desire to run.either to Sam or away. The mental shock was too much to for her to take in. Sam landed face down on the ground, her body drenched in blood and shrapnel impaling her pale skin. Finally, Aenne gained enough courage to speak again. "Why.." What had caused her bestest bud to do this, a battle? Nothing more than a petty battle!? They were supposed to win, but now there was no point to winning...at least not now. "Sam..why.." Aenne blamed herself for the whole thing. "What..what did I do wrong.."  
  
Duo zapped in on the little screen. "Aenne!!" He shouted. "I know it's hard..but snap out of it!!" He had the right intention, if they did not win, there would absolutely be nothing they could do. "Sam will be ok! But first we have to win!" He persuaded. Aenne broke back to reality; she had to win! There was still some MS standing, even though the explosion took out most of them. "You!" Aenne shouted, momentarily turning the blame to OZ. "You! YOU KILLED SAM!!!!!!!" She charged at the meaningless objects. "DIE!!" With a few swipes of her sword, she took out half the suits. Duo followed Aenne's rampage destroying any machines she missed. Within a few minutes, everything was gone, except the two Gundams. As Duo had finished off the last one, Aenne desperately sprawled out of TroubleWind. She crawled over to Sam's lifeless body, tears ever flowing from her soft green eyes. Upon reaching her friend, Aenne kneeled, and whispered. "Sam..Sam..come on buddy..wake up..." She stared at Sam, who did not answer.  
  
Denial. Denial was Aenne's escape. She imagined Sam to sit up and look at her oddly. 'Why are you crying!? Fool! It's just a few scratches, nothing to worry about.' Her vision or cheerfulness swept away with the gusts of wind.  
  
"Sam.." She again called to her friend, turning her over. "Get up!!" Her hands soaked in Sam's blood. "Sam!!! I said GET UP!!" She screamed, as she clutched onto Sam's shirt. Aenne realized that her forceful shouts were not helping. Her calling, her screaming, nobody's voice would return Sam. Aenne felt her heart slow, as she continued to weep. She felt so abandoned. For once in her life, Aenne could not protect Sam. "I'm sorry..." Her tears stopped, and she stood up. "...I'm so sorry.."  
  
Duo prayed for Sam to still be alive. The shock had not been as great for him, things like this had already happened to him. He forced himself to hold back any tears, he needed to be brave for Aenne...and for Sam. He noticed Aenne, she stood next to Sam, her eyes dark and lost, as if her soul had been plucked from her. He piloted DeathScythe, making his way over to the girls. He controlled the Gundam to gently pick up Sam's body.  
  
"No!!" Aenne shouted up to Duo. "Duo stop!! You can't take Sam!!" She was in hysterics; she no longer comprehended anything. "You havta leave Sam there!! If you take her anywhere, when she wakes up, she won't know where to go! Leave her with me!! I'll be here when she wakes up!" Duo knew, he could not let Aenne fly her Gundam, especially in her state. He called for assistance back at the base. They go the transmission and were quickly on their way.  
  
Duo hopped from the Gundam to go calm Aenne. "Aenne.." He spoke softly as he put his hand over her shoulder. "Are you alright?"  
  
No response.  
  
He asked once again. "Aenne, you alright?"  
  
Aenne turned around, violently tossing Duo's consoling hand away from her. Her cold eyes fiercely pierced into his. "Alright? ALRIGHT!?! Do you think I'm ALRIGHT!?!" She vented her anger on the poor boy.  
  
Duo inched back, not understanding the full array of emotions Aenne felt. "It's ok..just clam down. Help is on the way." Duo tried his best.  
  
"How the hell am I supposed to stay calm!?! My best friend is dead!!! DEAD!!!" She shouted to the sky. "And you! You want me to stay calm!?! Fuck you!"  
  
Duo looked at his partner extremely aghast. She had never acted so heartlessly, and he would never think she would. He stepped back, acknowledging the seriousness of it all. Both, Sam's suicide attempt, and Aenne's cruelty hit him. His shield shattered, as a tear carelessly rolled down his cheek.  
  
Upon seeing Duo's tear, Aenne realized how rash she had acted. She couldn't even believe herself what she had done. She not only felt she caused Sam's death, she also made Duo cry. "Duo..." She instinctively started crying again. "Duo.." Her eyes returned to the usually light color of green. "Duo." Her mouth trembled. He saw her pain, and recognized Aenne's sincerity. "What...what have I done..." She asked, confused and remorsefully. Duo embraced his friend; she desired his comfort. She needed his comfort. "Forgive me.." She sobbed. Duo held Aenne closer, her head resting on his chest.  
  
"It's ok, I forgive you." He hushed. "I forgive you.."  
  
Aenne continued to cry as Duo hugged her. "I'm sorry.."  
  
* * * * * * * * * *  
  
A few hours had passed since the self-detonation. Sam was in sickbay, and still alive. Aenne sat alone and silently on her bed. She held the picture of the three in her shaking hands. She knew Sam had made it.but why? Why did she still feel so gone, so full of pain? Aenne sat, thinking.  
  
"Want some hot cocoa?" Duo strolled into the room, carrying two mugs. She nodded and Duo handed her a glass. "Have you gone to see Sam?"  
  
"Yeah." Aenne said smiling, "The last time I saw her so rumbled up was when she roughed up those guys who tried to beat on our buds."  
  
Duo looked down at his cup in an effort to change the subject. He searched his mind in effort to find something, but, in vain, nothing came to mind.  
  
"Do you think she'll wake up?" Aenne barely managed to whispered.  
  
"Of course she will. She has to let you kick her butt." Duo said smiling.  
  
"That is so right. When she gets up I'm going to-" Aenne stopped and punched her hand.  
  
"See that gives her a reason."  
  
"Yeah." Aenne said swirling the hot cocoa in her cup. "You know what this is missing?"  
  
"What?" Duo said looking at her curled body.  
  
"A marshmallow." Aenne said looking up. "Would you get me one?"  
  
"Of course!" Duo said feeling helpful. "Ill be right back." He left her with his smile and turned into the plain metal hallway. He was determined not to cry or show any weakness to Aenne. Alone, in the hall, he could cry. As he walked, he tried to understand why Sam had to self- destruct. It didn't make any sense. He made a mental note in the back of his mind to ask her when she woke up.  
  
When he got back to Aenne's room, she was asleep on her bed, holding on tightly to Sam's army coat. Duo looked down and smiled at her. He then got a blanket and laid it over Aenne's body. Soon he would fall asleep himself, on the floor next to Aenne and form a small puddle of drool on the floor.  
  
********  
  
"Good morning!" Duo said in the food room. "How are you?"  
  
"I'm tired." Aenne mumbled. "I didn't sleep too well."  
  
"I know." Duo responded getting up and waking to the counter.  
  
"How would you know that?"  
  
"I slept on your floor." Duo said sitting back down with a full cup of coffee.  
  
"Oh." Aenne responded, "That's uhh ... kinda scary."  
  
"I saw Sam this morning." Duo said stopping Aenne in her tracks. Her eyes glazed over with pain and she relived seeing Sam's body on the ground. "I'm sorry." Duo said quietly. "I didn't mean to-"  
  
"No, it's alright." Aenne said smiling. "I can handle it. It's a reality that she is hurt. All I can do is hope for the best."  
  
"That's the spirit!" Duo exclaimed. "Just wait, shell be better in no time!"  
  
"Yeah!" Aenne said back, "Then we can be all cool again!"  
  
"Yep yep. I'm going to see her now. Do you want to come with?"  
  
"No, I'm going to get out of these clothes. Duo smiled noticing she had a small bloodstain on her pants. He was hoping that Aenne wouldn't notice.  
  
Aenne watched Duo walk out the door. His long braid bobbed up and down and he walked. Aenne stared at the door until the arrival of Chang stirred her emotions. His walk was brash and forceful, so much like Sam's. She watched his feel move to the counter then over to her.  
  
"Why are you moping around." Chang asked harshly.  
  
Aenne looked up into his eyes. "Sam is in a coma." She said sadly.  
  
"How did that happen?" Chang asked coldly.  
  
"She self-destructed."  
  
"Oh." Chang said sitting himself down next to Aenne. "Why?" He asked after a moment.  
  
"Duo and I charged in and didn't see the second line. Sam self- destructed and destroyed them all."  
  
"I see." Chang said sipping from his cup. "Are you going to be alright?"  
  
"Yeah ..." Aenne trailed off. She stared at the wall for a moment until life caught up to her. "Wait, am I to believe you care?" She said turning to Chang.  
  
Chang sipped from his cup again and paused before saying, "Of course."  
  
"Okay." Aenne said thinking. "Okay." She said again. "Could you say that again? Just so I sure I heard you right."  
  
"I said I care. Can't you hear woman?" With that he stood up and walked away. Aenne watched him exit with a look of shook. She shook the last few moments out of her head and decided that now would be a good time to change, and visit Sam. Aenne dragged her feet back her room. She had to have one hand against the wall for support. Her head was spinning as she walked. With much effort, she made it to her room. Carefully opening the door, she found it empty. It was like she was expecting Sam to be there. Death came up to her and curled around Aenne leg. She picked up the kitty and ruffled its hair. "Do you want to see Sam with me?" She said whispered. "Then you'll have to wait a moment." She said putting the cat down.  
  
Aenne went to her bags and dug through them until she found what she should wear. It took some time, but she found her "punk princess" shirt and her most holy pants she could find. Then she picked Death back up and left for the sickbay.  
  
When she got to the door, she felt apprehension swarm over her. Her hand was on the door, but she didn't open it. She stood there for what seemed like ages for her and the cat. Then with a sudden burst, Duo swung the door open with a bright smile. "Hi Aenne!" He cheered.  
  
"Hi Duo." Aenne replied quietly.  
  
"Look what I did." Duo said bringing her in. "I made her room pretty!" Aenne quickly looked around and saw thousands of flowers around the room, each in a colorful array of reads, whites, greens and every other color.  
  
Aenne jaw dropped when she said, "You can't have all these flowers! When Sam wakes up, she'll want to go back in the coma!"  
  
"No she won't. She'll love them." Duo said assumingly, giggling at Aenne's joke.  
  
"What do you want to bet she won't?" Aenne said grinning.  
  
"I don't want to bet anything," Duo said smiling. "I know I'm right!"  
  
"Uh-huh." Aenne said softly. "Look, I brought Death!" Aenne said holding up the kitty.  
  
"Can I hold him?" Duo said reaching for the cat.  
  
"Death is not a him!" Aenne said bringing the cat closer to herself. "Death is a she!"  
  
"No, Death is a he, like me. That's why Sam took him!" Duo said back.  
  
"Death is a she, she cat. No he!" Aenne screamed.  
  
"Fine!" Duo yelled, "Deny the truth!"  
  
"I will!" Aenne yelled back. The two looked at each other on the brink of laughter. It was a contradicting scene for Aenne. Her best bud, well, one of them, was laying on the bed and all she could do was yell about a kitty. That's just weird!  
  
"Is Sam better?" Aenne finally asked.  
  
"She is a fast healer." Duo said smiling. "She'll be awake in no time."  
  
"Can I have a moment alone."  
  
"Sure." Duo responded, "but did you know that when you are in a coma, you can still hear?"  
  
"Really?" She said back.  
  
"Yep!" Duo said closing the door.  
  
"So Sam," She said sitting down, "Guess what Chang said ..." Aenne trailed off into slurred words. She talked about everything from how Duo was being a sweetheart to how she was going to eat all of Sam's share of ice cream. At times when she looked down, she swore she could see Sam smile. But, Aenne knows Sam, and she knows how bored she gets, so she stopped after an hour of talking her mouth off. She said goodbye and walked out into the hall to find Duo in the waiting chair.  
  
"What you talk about?" Duo asked.  
  
"Oh, I told her the scariest thing about Chang." Aenne responded.  
  
"Really? What did he say?" Duo asked raising her eyebrow.  
  
"Chang said her cared about me." Aenne replied.  
  
Duo froze for a moment and looked at her with really wide eyes. "What did you say? Tell me again so I know I heard you right."  
  
"Chang said he cared about me."  
  
"Okay." Duo said thinking, "Okay." He said again. "I think I heard you right. Did you just say that Chang said he cared?"  
  
"Yep!" Aenne said happily. "You should have seen the look on Sam's face when I told her." Duo stared up with his head tilted to one side. The look on his face was indescribable. It kinda looked like he had an Elvis lip but his brow looked lopsided. "Come on, we need to eat ice cream for Sam."  
  
The two traveled to the cafeteria aka the food room and Aenne wandered into the freezer. "Hmm." She pondered looking at gallons upon gallons of ice cream. "There's so many!! Which one should I choose?" Instinctively, she pulled down two gallons of 'death by Chocolate'. She found two spoons and went back over to Duo, who sat down on the cafeteria couch(one thing I don't think I brought). "Here." She handed him a scooping utensil and a bucket-o-ice cream.  
  
"Yum! What flavor?"  
  
"Death by chocolate." She responded. "The death part is for you and the chocolate part is for me!" She smiled.  
  
"Ahhh.ya shouldn't have!" Duo joked.  
  
"Yeh, well you're just lucky I got you any ice cream at all!!" She teased, a she plopped herself onto the couch next to Duo. Aenne dipped her spoon into the ice cream and all of its chocolaty goodness and took out a huge chunk of it.  
  
"Would ya like some spoon for your ice cream?" All Duo could think of doing was to make Aenne happy, and if she was happy Duo would be also.  
  
"Actually." Aenne polished off the chocolate on her spoon. "I want some of your ice cream!!" She plunged the scooping implement into Duo's bucket.  
  
"Hey!" He jumped back off the couch. "My ice cream!! You have a whole gallon to yourself!!" He frowned.  
  
"So?" Aenne looked up at him innocently. "What's your point?"  
  
"I guess nothing.." He sighed, sitting down on the couch once again. He noticed Aenne's attire and questioned her. "What's with the 'dark' look?"  
  
"For Sam!" She stared hungrily at the helpless dairy product. "I'm gonna make 'er proud of me..as much as I can at least.."  
  
"I'm sure Sam'll be super proud!"  
  
After quite a while, Death came and found the two. Both the gallons had been entirely eaten up, with the spoons sticking out. And both the pilots had fallen asleep, after exhausting themselves out with talking and eating(sugar does that to people) plus not resting all too well the night before also helped. Duo had propped up his head with his elbow leaning on the armrest of the couch, and Aenne rested her head on his shoulder. They were sound asleep.  
  
Death stepped over to an empty ice cream carton, sniffed it and then started licking it. 


	8. Chapter 8

"Geez...Sam!! It's been like what!? Three weeks!? You can't just sleep like that!! Must be having some spifftacular dreams.." Aenne heavily sighed as she again stared down at the photo. She again found herself in her room, where she had spent most of her time within the last few weeks. Sam was still in a coma, yet recuperating, which made Aenne more cheerful yet more sorrowed every day. When Aenne was not in her room, she had either been eating, which was hardly ever, or visiting Sam. Every time she visited her buddy, she told her everything that had been happenin' at the base. She tired not to tell Sam anything sad, like how lonely she felt and that she missed her fave gundam pilot. She told her encouraging word and sometimes jokingly threatened. And every day Duo replaced the flowers, their bet was still on. "Sigh...what to do till Sam gets back?" She thought out loud. "I could clean." She glanced around the room, which sparkled, she cleaned it like five times over already. "Did that." She pondered some more. "I could make her a card.nah!.too lazy, and then she'll know I'll put some effort into something."  
  
"Like the room doesn't show it?" Duo questioned, prancing into the room. Duo was a regular, visiting Sam and Aenne.  
  
"Hey I can't help it if it giltters with tidiness!" Aenne pouted. "I got bored."  
  
"Really bored." The two said at the same time.  
  
"Hey!!!" Aenne jumped up surprised. "We were thinking the same thing!!"  
  
"Yeh.." Duo looked at Aenne strangely. "So.."  
  
"So!! We share a brain!!" Aenne proclaimed joyously. "You're our newest brain buddy!! Yeah!!!"  
  
"Is this a good thing?" Dou asked full of doubt.  
  
"Yes!! 'Tis a wondrous thing!!" Aenne stated proudly. "Wait.does that mean I only have a quarter of a brain left!? Oh no..there go the brain cells.smartness leaving!" Aenne held her head in pain. "Ouch!!! And I was just joking!!" Suddenly Aenne had a splitting headache, it felt like some one just bashed a rock into her forehead. "Ouchie!! Ouch ouch!!"  
  
"What?" Duo questioned her confused.  
  
"Head really does hurt! Bunches of oats!!! Ouch!"  
  
"Well, we shall go to sickbay then!" He grabbed Aenne's wrist and dragged her along to the infirmary. "Quick! We need to get this pilot some ibuprophen! Stat! Hey, I've always wanted to say that!" He laughed.  
  
"Sorry! Can't have other business to attend too." A doctor rushed by.  
  
"Hey!! You!! What is more important then my friend's head?" Duo asked insulted.  
  
"Your other friend, who just woke up!" The doctor glared at Duo.(hey don't glare at him!)  
  
"SAM!!!" Both Duo and Aenne shouted at the doctor, before dashing out the door and into her room. Sam had just opened her eyes and was trying to sit up. "Don't sit up!" Duo cautioned.  
  
Sam looked around, taking in the sights of the hospital quarters and the flowers. "The flowers..." She mumbled, trying to speak her best. "They're...nice.."  
  
"I told you she'd like them!!" Duo turned to Aenne.  
  
"Dolt! She said that sarcastically!!" Aenne remarked.  
  
"How can you tell!?"  
  
"I'm her buddy!!"  
  
"So am I!"  
  
"Both of you be quiet!" The doctor bellowed. Duo and Aenne instantly hushed their mouths. "She's needs rest.you may visit her in a while." The two moped out the door.  
  
"She doesn't need any rest! She's been resting for three whole weeks!" Aenne muttered.  
  
"Yeah!" Duo shouted in an agreement. "She owes us time!"  
  
With aloud burst, the doctor came out of the room panting. The brief moment the door was open, Aenne and Duo could hear the clashing of something against the wall. He looked up at the Duo, who was looking down on him. He rolled his eyes and said, "You can go back in. She refuses to let me touch her until she sees you two."  
  
"Yeah!" Aenne shouted, "That's my Sam, stubborn as ever!" Duo and Aenne rushed to the door, both pinching each other against the frame. "No, I get to see her first!"  
  
"No I do!" Duo shouted pushing with all his might against Aenne.  
  
"No I do!" Aenne pushed back with all the force she could conjure up.  
  
"Hey ..." Sam said in a whisper. "There is ... enough Sam for ... everyone. Get over here .... and give me some ... loving."  
  
"Yeah!" Aenne said wrapping her arms around her tightly.  
  
"Yep." Duo said following suit. "We missed you!"  
  
"I know." Sam said nodding off. Her two buddies noticed that she didn't even have the strength to keep her eyes open, and took care to lay her back down on her bed.  
  
"This sucks!" Aenne whispered, "She just woke up!"  
  
"Give her a day." Duo assured, "She be back to her old self in no time."  
  
"She better be!" They both walked out of the door and gave the doctor a mean look (That's what he got for glaring at Duo). As they walked down, Duo noticed that Aenne seemed to glow with relief. "You know," she started, "I can finally sleep well tonight."  
  
That day came and went for Aenne and soon sleep was upon her. Duo, being sly and all, decided now would be the bestest time to talk to Sam. That way Aenne would never have to know and Duo could finally get all the loose ends tied. He snuck into her room, to find Sam sitting up staring at the wall.  
  
"Wow." Duo said looking at the wall himself, "Is it really that entertaining?"  
  
"No." Sam said quietly. She was still very tired, but she looked more rested. "What did you want?"  
  
"Aenne is asleep, and I thought I would came and tell you goodnight."  
  
"No it isn't." Sam said looking up at him, "You came here to ask me something."  
  
"I did?" Duo said shocked that she saw through him so easily.  
  
"You want to know why I self-destructed, don't you?" Duo nodded yes.  
  
"Well, it was easier to destroy them with my gundam then it was to fight them." Sam looked down at her hands. "It was a coward's way out."  
  
"How can you say that?" Duo said sitting down on the edge of the bed.  
  
"Well," Sam said sadly, "I went through all the files from my father's computer. Then I entered all the information into my Gundam. My Gundam told me that those mobile suits were programmed with data that my father collected. They don't have data on Aenne and I so we may have survived, but you were in danger. I couldn't let you die. And rather then fight for you, I blew up."  
  
Duo watched as Sam hung her head in silence like she was mourning for herself. He didn't know what to say or do. He remembered asking Sam if she would die for him. At that moment, he didn't believe it, but now; he realized how much love was in Sam's heart. He reached his arm over and pulled her body to his hugging her softly. "Thank you." He said quietly. "No one has ever done anything like that for me."  
  
Sam forced herself not to react. She just closed her eyes and let her body go limp. Duo sensed what Sam was feeling and let her slip into sleep. He laid her down, with much care, on her bed making sure she didn't wake up. His only thought was to protect Sam's pride. The last thing she needed was a soft spot.  
  
********  
  
"Sam!" Aenne shouted, "Do you think you should be up and walking around?"  
  
"No," Sam said looking up, "But do have any idea how boring that room is. All I do is stare at the wall, like I did in Mr. Jones class and Mrs. McCarthy's and so many others."  
  
"I think you should march your hiney back to your room before the doctors find out that you aren't there."  
  
"I'm sick of doctors!" Sam said angry. "All they do is say I should wait for my body to heal. I'm not patient enough to do that! I need ice cream ..." She walked to the freezer and opened it causing her to gasp. "Where is all the ice cream? I can't live this way. I NEED it."  
  
"Duo and I ate it all." Aenne said with innocence.  
  
"You what?" Sam said raising an eyebrow. "You wait for me to enter a coma then you eat all my ice cream! That's it! I'm never going into coma again, not if I get this treatment!"  
  
"We didn't mean to!" Aenne yelled in defense.  
  
"Okay." Sam said breathing in, "I can handle it." She caught a glimpse of movement as Duo walked in.  
  
"Hey hey!" He said, "Wow, up and walking. Almost as fast as Heero."  
  
"Uh-huh." Sam said looking away. "You ate my ice cream!"  
  
"No I didn't," Duo said shocked. In an evening Sam changed personalities to the caring person that she was on the inside, to showing the brute she was on the outside. "Aenne told me to!"  
  
"Uh-huh." Sam said shaking her head. "How weak you are." She gave him an evil look that turned to Aenne, "I'm very proud, you learned to manipulate the weak."  
  
"Yay!" Aenne cheered, "At least I think Yay ... Duo what should I think? You share our brain."  
  
"What?" Sam said confused, "Duo's in my head too?"  
  
"Yeah, it's funny." Aenne said giggling, "About the same time Duo became our brain buddy, you woke up! Hey that's the reason. Duo, you woke her up!" She ran over and glomped him.  
  
"Hey you two!" Sam shouted while covering her eyes, "Get a rooom! I shouldn't have to see that."  
  
Just then Chang came in the door. "Where have you been, we have a briefing. A new mission into Space."  
  
"Space?" Duo asked with wide eyes, "Why?"  
  
"Come to the briefing and find out." Chang said walking away.  
  
"Come on!" Duo said urging them around, "Maybe I will get to go back home!" He grabbed the arms of Sam and Aenne pushing them out the door to the briefing room.  
  
"Home.." Sam and Aenne both said longingly. "Duo? Where's you home?" Aenne continued.  
  
"Up there!" He pointed to the ceiling. He would have pointed to the sky.but seeing as how they are inside.  
  
"Aren't we all?" Heero questioned in monotone.  
  
"Mr. Heero!" Aenne exclaimed happily. "I haven't got to say that for quite some time now..."  
  
"Actually I'm from L2's V08744 colony." Duo responded, still starting up at the ceiling.  
  
"On with the briefing!" Wufei commanded harshly. "We don't have a lot of time ya know."  
  
"Fine!" Aenne commented back. She noticed that some pilots were missing. "Hey, where's Quatre and Trowa?" Aenne asked.  
  
"I don't know." Chang stated bluntly and not caring. "They'll be here."  
  
'Sorry we're late!" Quatre skipped into the room with a huge smile upon his face. Trowa silently followed.  
  
"It's about time." Wufei scolded. "Now about the mission." He started only to be interrupted.  
  
"Who's going on the mission?" Aenne pondered. "Cause I won't allow Sam to go!! No way! Not after what she did!!"  
  
Chang glared at Aenne. "She's not going. She's too we-ill to go."  
  
"Ok." Aenne happily smiled, winking at Sam. "See I saved you this time!"  
  
"Moving on..L6 D06732 colony has been constantly threatened by OZ's forces. They have contacted us for assistance. OZ has been pressuring the colony to join it, yet the colony continues to reject the offer. They feel, that after a while OZ is planning to attack and ask that we aid in fighting." He paused.  
  
"Alright, So like Aenne said. Who is going?" Duo said breaking the silence.  
  
Chang glanced down at a sheet of paper that held the answer. "Heero, Quatre, Trowa, Aenne, and I. Sam and Duo are to stay behind."  
  
"That's fine." Sam answered. "I've been meaning to do some research. And I guess Duo can keep me company." She joked.  
  
"What, I don't?" Duo inquired. "You'll be all alone."  
  
"All alone!?" Aenne interjected. "What about me!? What about Aenne!?" She did the *tear* thing, as she looked at her friends.  
  
"You have Wu-man.." Seeing Aenne frown, Duo quickly added onto the list of people. "Quatre to keep you company."  
  
"I don't know about that. Two blondes on a mission? Now they surely are goners." Sam continued joking with Duo.  
  
"HEY!!" Quatre and Aenne shouted in unison. "You're just jealous!" Aenne stuck her nose in the air. "So there! Blondes have more fun!" Aenne tried proving her worth.  
  
"Well..that's true!" Quatre said shyly. "See!? Quatre and I will take 'em all on!" She punched Quatre in the arm. "Yeh!"  
  
Nothing much happened after that. Aenne was getting her mental state ready for the mission at hand, but still something bothered her. Of course, Duo visited Aenne and Sam before the hit the beds.  
  
"Hey Ladies! Came to wish you all pleasant dreams!" Duo said closing the door.  
  
"Bye Duo!!" Aenne shouted to him, after he closed the door. She was quiet while she snuggled under the covers. Sam was aloud to sleep in her own bed for a change..after she yelled at the doctors. "Sam?" Aenne asked silently, checking if she was still awake.  
  
"Yeh?" Sam said, opening one eye.  
  
"Well.." She hushed herself. "About the mission..."  
  
"What about it?"  
  
"What if I mess up.." She said concerned not only for her safety but Sam's. She knew she could not mess up. If she did, that would just make Sam feel depressed like Aenne had been. "I mean..what if-"  
  
"Nothing will happen." Sam said, reading Aenne's mind. "You'll do great! You'll save that colony!"  
  
"But.But.But." Aenne's mouth quivered.  
  
"No! I won't hear it! Where's the Aenne I know and love?" Sam said cheering her buddy up.  
  
"She's..she's eating all your ice cream!" Aenne beamed. "And tomorrow when she's finished, she's gonna go kick some major chicken butt!!!"  
  
"There she is!" Sam smiled once before she drifted into a slumber. Aenne on the other hand, turned over and looked at her wall, the one filled with pictures/posters she had posted up. She realized, that when Sam was in a coma, she had stuck the picture on her wall. She now stared directly at the picture. Even though she was happy and cheery with Sam, she still felt uneasy. "What do I do?" She spoke softly to the picture. "What if worse comes to worse.what if I must self destruct?" She admired Sam for her courage, it takes a lot of that to blow yourself up, and she detested the fact that Sam did blow herself up. "I could never be as fearless and brave as you." She indicated to picture Sam. "What if I am to sacrifice myself for the others? What about then? How am I supposed to do it? I can't.." She trailed off, as she felt a wrenching in her heart. "I could never do it.. I can't compare to Sam.." She wiped a tear from her eye and rolled over clutching onto her pillow. "But If I must..I'm determined!" Aenne said a little louder, but yawned afterward. She closed her eyes and instantly drifted off.  
  
Sam, who had been half asleep, had heard the whole thing. "Aenne...You are brave, you just need to find it for yourself."  
  
***********  
  
"Bye Aenne!" Sam said waving. "Duo and I will be right here when you get back!"  
  
"Good luck on your mission!" Duo cheered on, "You are going to do great!"  
  
"Bye guys!" Aenne said waving back. "I'll miss you!" She closed the door to Troublewind and followed her team members out the docking bay. Duo and Sam stood side by side with encouraging smiles.  
  
"She going to do great!" Duo said with a big smile. "I miss her already."  
  
Sam didn't respond to his comment. She was already proud of Aenne and would continue to be no matter what happened. Her movement caught Duo's attention who was still waving to Aenne.  
  
"Where are you going?" He asked.  
  
"I have stuff I have been putting off that needs to be done." Sam said walking away.  
  
"Like what?" Duo asked her back. Sam never answered the question; she just walked away with a disk in hand. "No loving..." Duo said watching her.  
  
Sam sat down at the desk and turned on the computer. She downloaded everything off the disk onto the hard drive then looked through all the files. Her father had collected data on every encounter with a Gundam. In front of her was everything there was to know on the Gundams and their pilots. Instantly, she looked at Duo's file. Her eyes glazed over his name, then to the earliest known information on him.  
  
"What are you looking at?" Duo asked from the door.  
  
"You." She said looking at the screen. "I never knew any of this."  
  
"What?" He said walking up to her. He bent over and looked at the screen. "Where did you get this?"  
  
"I stole it from my father." Sam said still looking at the screen.  
  
"Is it reliable?" He said looking away.  
  
"I don't know." Sam said turning it off, "You tell me."  
  
"You will understand if I don't?"  
  
"Of course." Sam said standing next to him. She carefully put her arm on his back, trying to show support. "Why don't we get some grub."  
  
"You got a deal." He said smiling. "But do me a little favor." "Sure."  
  
"Don't tell anyone. They don't need to know my past." He said looking at the floor.  
  
"It's safe with me." Sam replied. "Now why don't you treat me to some ice cream."  
  
********  
  
"Okay Aenne." Chang said over the P.A. "We are clearing the atmosphere. Now we split up into a groups and rendezvous at the colony at 1100 hours. Aenne, you are with me. Someone has to make sure you don't do anything stupid."  
  
"Roger." Heero said over the P.A.  
  
"Yay!" Quatre chimed, "Trowa your with me!" Trowa didn't respond. He just followed Quatre's lead. Heero always went on missions by himself. To get rid of distraction, so he sped off leaving Chang and Aenne alone.  
  
"Hey woman!" He yelled over the P.A.  
  
"Next time, use my name." Aenne said annoyed.  
  
"Woman," Chang continued, "Have you ever been to space?"  
  
"No," Aenne replied sharply. "Remember, Sam and I are from the Earth."  
  
"Great!" Chang exclaimed exasperated, "I have to pilot with you around. Just stay out of my way, woman."  
  
'Oh great!' Aenne thought to herself. 'I have to be around this jerk all day. I should have stayed at the base with Duo and Sam. Why did I even bother coming? I wonder what Ducky is up to...'  
  
********  
  
"What do you think Aenne is doing right now?" Duo asked Sam.  
  
"Probably talking to herself about why she is on the mission. That or Ducky." Sam replied quickly. "Your move."  
  
"What?" He looked down at the chess pieces. Sam was kicking his butt. All he had left were three pawns, a knight, rook and his king. "You think she'll be okay?"  
  
"Of course, but will you move already." Sam said back. "Besides, Aenne will make the most out of any situation."  
  
"I know that!" Duo said back moving his pawn.  
  
"Then why did you even ask!?" Sam said back. She put her hand to her chin, in the thinking pose, then moved her knight. "Check mate."  
  
"What?" Duo said taken back. "This is not check mate." He fumbled with the pieces as Sam stood up and walked away. "Not fair!" He yelled. "You cheat like Chang!"  
  
"Take that back!" Sam yelled. "Never insult me in that way!"  
  
"I'm sorry." Duo said quietly. "You cheat, but you have no association with Chang what-so-ever."  
  
"Damn right!" Sam said back, hearing Duo snickering. "I'm going to do more research now."  
  
"Then I'll see you for dinner?"  
  
"Yep." Sam said exiting.  
  
********  
  
"What are we doing here?" Aenne asked.  
  
"None of your concern, woman." Chang said back.  
  
"Well, yes it is." Aenne said back. "Tell me what we are doing or, I going to sing Henry the eighth I am."  
  
"Feeble threats." Chang smirked.  
  
"Oooooooooooh Henry the eighth I am I am ..."  
  
"Fine fine!" Chang screamed in agony, "This is my home colony, just stop singing!"  
  
"Your home?" Aenne pondered, "Do I get to go with you?"  
  
"Woman, you have to stay here and guard the Gundams." Chang said leaving here.  
  
"No way you are leaving me all alone." She said scrabbling out of TroubleWind, "I am coming with you!"  
  
"I said stay!!!" He shouted at Aenne, who was obviously very serious about her not coming along.  
  
"Great." She muttered, hopping back into her Gundam. "Go on!" Aenne shouted at him, just as he was out of sight. "See if I care! Being left all alone...watching two big machines...with nothing to do.." Aenne sighed as she looked at the scenery. They had landed in a quiet little forested area. Although they were safe with the colonies, neither wanted a huge reaction from the people, so they kept it on the down low. The trees had bloomed, beautiful tints of reds, blues, and purples lit up the ground and the foliage. A small breeze made the leaves dance, while the sunrays illuminated their path.  
  
Aenne sighed again, twiddling her fingers. "Where's Duo when you need to have a thumb war?" She thought aloud. "And where's Sam when I need someone to beat up? Darn it!! It's so boring out here!" She pounded her fist on the hard metal. "Ouch!...Stay here." She mocked Wufei. "Stay here my butt!" Aenne stayed anyway..for at least five more minutes. She was hanging upside-down from Troublewind, when she decided to leave. "That's it I'm going!" She flipped up, and jumped down. "Don't get into any trouble while I'm gone." She ordered to the gundams.  
  
Suddenly, she heard a distant quacking in the distance. "Uh-oh..those ducks must have a mafia.." Aenne darted off, following the path of Chang Wufei. 


	9. Chapter 9

Sam was back on the computers and Duo...he was playing with Death. "Hello little Shinigami." He cooed at the cat, holding his braid up for the cat to claw. Death kept pawing at Duo's hair, while Sam kept typing away. Mistakenly, Death swiped his claw, missing Duo' braid, and hit Duo's nose.  
  
"Ouch." He grabbed his nose.  
  
"Ha! That's Death!" She smiled as she pulled up a file. "Gundam Tallgeese." Her tone changed as she whispered. Intrigued, Duo stopped playing with the kitty and stepped over to Sam and the computer.  
  
"Huh? Whatcha lookin' at?" He asked curiously.  
  
"Gundam..." Her eyes glazed over as she looked at the stats of the gundam itself and the pilot. "Pilot: Zechs Marquise." The name rolled over her tongue. "So..that's who he is."  
  
"Zechs?" Duo, still curios as to who Sam was looking up, questioned.  
  
"I fought him.on that mission." She answered him, eyes still glued to the screen.  
  
"Oh.."  
  
********  
  
Aenne walked a ways before she found her self near some buildings. "Geez..I never knew colonies could be so huge." She paused a while, standing in awe of such a huge accomplishment. "It looks so much like Earth." She felt encouraged to do a beautiful speech, but digressed. Aenne wandered, not heading directly into civilization, but stayed on the outskirts. "Now, if I were a Chinese guy, who is always pissed off, and rambling about injustice, and calling me woman, were would I be?" She talked to herself, and noticed some people were looking at her funny. "HEY!! If I'm so amusing, why don't you take a picture!! Ya know what they say.it lasts longer!"  
  
Aenne continued muttering to herself about 'crazy people that have nothing better to do than stare at her' and 'where in the world is Chang Wufei' until she came upon a cemetery. "Yuck!" She groaned. "Icky dead people!" Aenne, who was terribly afraid of evil killer zombies popping out of the ground and sucking out her eyeballs, quickly tiptoes through the graveyard, making sure not her step on any of the graves. She was creeping by, when the Chinese guy with the pissy attitude caught her attention. "Wufei.."  
  
He stood at a solitary grave. A stone gazebo covered it. Candles flickered like heartbeats and Wufei prayed, placing his hands together. A look of longing covered his sorrowful face as he meditated.  
  
Aenne found some bushes, and hid behind them, watching him. She just watched him, his solemn expression on his face, it was as if he was crying, but shed no tears.  
  
Wufei opened his eyes. He swiftly turned around and walked with the wind. It gently carried him out of the cemetery, never turning back.  
  
Aenne hurried up into the gazebo. "Eh?" The name 'Chang Meilan' was engraved into the heartless stone. "C-Chang Meilan." She stumbled over the name for a few seconds before glancing up. The gazebo overlooked a lush green hill, covered with wild flowers. "Beautiful." Behind the grave was a small shrine. Aenne peered around the grave and discovered it. She moved to the back, to admire the tiny shrine. Upon the holy place sat a picture of Meilan, some candles, incense and a bracelet of Buddhist prayer beads. "She's so young.." She kneeled, glimpsing down at the picture of the smiling girl. She looked so peaceful and happy. Aenne had no idea what the relationship between this girl and Wufei had, but she still felt remorseful. Out of respect she lit a candle and bowed her head. Aenne stood up silently and walked out of the gazebo. In the corner of her eye, she saw a cherry tree. The pink blossoms covered the tree, barely showing any green. Aenne skipped over to the tree and picked of a small branch. She held the flower close to her, and like a ghost, drifted back over to Meilan's grave. She placed the pink flowers in the middle and finally left the resting place.  
  
"Poor Chang..both of them." She did not start talking until she reached the Gundams again. Aenne looked up at TroubleWind and then over at Wufei's. Like it's pilot, Nataku also had a serious sorrowful expression. "Why do things havta go wrong?" She asked Chang's Gundam. "Why do people get hurt and die? It just makes this world so much more awful! And it just makes everyone sadder!" She protested.  
  
"It's an injustice."  
  
Aenne turned around. There stood Wufei, still solemn as ever. Aenne wanted to say something like 'I'm sorry' or 'I'm sad that someone you loved died' but that would just mean she disobeyed Chang's instructions and would just make him angrier.  
  
"Come on. It's almost time for us to meet the others." Wufei said, getting into Nataku.  
  
Aenne powered up TroubleWind and they both took off. She sat a while, pondering whether to talk to Chang or not.  
  
"Hiya!" Aenne smiled over the P.A.  
  
"What?"  
  
"I.." She paused, glancing down, and then back up. "I just wanted to say I'm sorry." Her smile faded.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Well..for two things..one disobeying orders, I sorta followed you, and spied on you." Aenne confessed.  
  
"I know." He said bluntly.  
  
"W-What?"  
  
"I knew you were there. Don't think I didn't see you. I did. I'm not that stupid." He stated directly.  
  
"Oh...Well, the second reason is I'm sorry for what happened to Meilan. I don't know what or how it happened or who she is. But I understand how it is to lose someone close. I dunno how many times its happened to me..someone whom I love, dies..but somehow I always try to stay cheery." Aenne tried to brighten the situation. "I mean, just think about it. Would they really want me to be sad and depressed the rest of my life? Or would they rather have me be happy, remembering the good times, and never forget them?" Her smile returned.  
  
No response came from Wufei.  
  
"Or.I'm just completely wrong.and have no idea what I'm saying." Aenne heavily sighed.  
  
"I appreciate it.."  
  
"Huh?"  
  
"What you did for Meilan.she loved flowers..."  
  
********  
  
"Okay so I get it now!" Duo said sneering. "You have a crush on him."  
  
"What are you talking about." Sam said flatly.  
  
"Don't think I don't see it. You think he's pretty." Duo persisted. "That long blond hair. Beautiful blues eyes, he has a uniform too."  
  
"By the sound of it, you like him more then I do." Sam turned off the computer and raised herself so she could walk out the door. "So what if I do?" She said scooping up Death.  
  
"I would never believe it either. You having a crush." Duo continued. "I never would have imagined ..." Sam let the door slam and she left the room. Duo stood alone, pondering what just happened. He couldn't tell if he hurt Sam's feeling or if she was joking back. "Sam's just so hard to read ..." He trailed off.  
  
********  
  
"Chang, Aenne!" Quatre yelled upon seeing their jet streams. "We need your help! A second line of MS suits is on the way."  
  
"Hey, where's Heero?" Aenne asked uncertain.  
  
"Aenne, don't worry." Quatre replied, "Heero is on his own mission."  
  
"Gotcha!" Aenne said replying and smiling.  
  
"Come on Nataku!" Chang said pushing himself forward. "We must protect the colonies. They are to weak to fight for themselves!"  
  
Aenne and Chang flew side by side into a battle. For the first time, Aenne knew why to fight. She may not have experienced the pain of being in the colonies, but she knew what it was to suffer. It may not have been a deep pain like loosing the one you love, but still, pain is something all people share. She was fighting to protect the people from pain, so no one would ever have to loose love, so no one would have to suffer.  
  
"Chang, I'll protect Quatre and the others, you must keep all the MS from reaching the colony!" Aenne said taking charge. She led TroubleWind into the heart of battle. Her reactions took control as she let her mind come to peace on the battlefield.  
  
Chang roused to the colony and stood still meditating for a brief moment. "Mobile suits have no soul!" He screamed. "Taking fear out of battle gets rid of purpose!" He rushed forward, swiftly making waste of the machines put before him. "This battle has no meaning."  
  
"We can't continue like this." Quatre said holding back tears. "We have to end this."  
  
"I have an idea." Trowa cut in, "Aenne, take flank with Quatre." Aenne complied. "Now Quatre, whatever you do, don't leave Aenne's side. She'll protect you."  
  
"Don't do it Trowa!" Quatre yelled. "I need you!"  
  
"Quatre, watch out!" Aenne screamed shooting over his head, "Where are you? Get your head in the battle!" Aenne then turned around and saw the explosion that ended Trowa's life. The self-detination device destroyed all enemies. "Trowa?" Aenne said in shock. "Answer me. Answer me damn it!"  
  
"He's dead?" Quatre said quietly, "He can't be dead, he has to take me on a picnic." Tears swelled in his eyes and he screamed "TROWA!!!!!!!"  
  
"Sometimes, the living has to die in order to protect the dead." Chang said addressing everyone. "Be grateful you knew Trowa in battle."  
  
"That is it!" Aenne screamed, "I don't want to fight if everyone keeps blowing up! I don't want to loose any more friends to this stupid war! I just want to end!"  
  
"Aenne!" Quatre screamed, "Above you!"  
  
A single MS Space Leo was left and it had targeted Aenne. It came rushing towards her at such speed she would never have time to react. Chang came rushing towards here and used his gundam to block the Space Leo from ramming into her. The sudden flash of light was so bright, Aenne couldn't see if Chang was dead or alive.  
  
"Chang?" Aenne asked hoping he was alive. "Chang?" She didn't receive an answer. "CHANG!!!!"  
  
"I can hear just fine woman, you don't have to yell. Weakling." He replied.  
  
"Why did you do that?" Aenne said completely shocked and on the brink of tears.  
  
"Nevermind that, we need to get back to the base. I have to repair Nataku." Aenne used Troublewind to brace Nataku as she flew. This was a melancholy day. She lost another friend and was determined not to lose another. They left the battlefield in silence, mourning for the dead.  
  
"Did you realize only one person died in that entire battle?" Aenne said not to anyone in particular, just aloud. Her head hung low as moved forward. "Seems a little excessive for just one death."  
  
But out in the wilderness of space, Trowa, in his space suit, drifted off, whispering to himself, "Quatre, you are too gentle to die ... live in my memory ..."  
  
********  
  
"Duo!" Sam said opening the door to his room. "They are back. Get your ass out of bed so we can greet Aenne!"  
  
"What, it's one in the morning." Duo said turning his back to the light of the hallway.  
  
Sam stepped in his room and grabbed the blanket over Duo and whooshed them off his bed on the floor, leaving him to shiver. "Now get up!"  
  
"All right! I'm up, now get out of her so I can dress." Duo responded.  
  
"Just come in your boxers. That's what I'm doing. Now let's go!" Sam grabbed his hand and pulled him up out of the bed, then got behind him and pushed him into the hallway.  
  
"I'm going, I'm going!" He said trying to get Sam to stop pushing him. "I'm going."  
  
They walked through the hallway, Duo constantly reaching up and stretching and letting out yawns. They got the air lock, and intently, Sam knew something was wrong by the mean expression on Aenne's face.  
  
"What happened?" Sam said intently.  
  
"Is everyone alright?" Duo asked.  
  
"No." Aenne said quietly, "Trowa didn't come back with us." Sam and Duo turned their heads to look at Quatre, tears pouring down his face.  
  
"We shouldn't be fighting at all ..." He repeated to himself over and over again.  
  
"What happened to Nataku?" Sam said pointing up to Chang's Gundam.  
  
"Chang blocked a shot for me." Aenne said dimly, "Can I go to sleep now?"  
  
"Yeah." Sam replied. "Duo, help me get Aenne to her room." Sam said taking Aenne's arm and lifting her up. Duo took the other as they moved her to her room in silence. They laid her in her bed, and covered her with the blanket's then left the room. Sam was the first to speak.  
  
"Aenne shouldn't have gone on that mission." Sam said clutching her fist. "I should have."  
  
"You can't blame yourself." Duo said looking at her. "She knew what she was getting into."  
  
"No one should have to bear the responsibilities of being a pilot. Not you, not Aenne, not anyone." Sam said looking at her feet.  
  
"You shouldn't have to fight either." Duo said lifting Sam's head so he could look in her eyes. "War is such an ugly thing. You're right. We shouldn't have to bear the responsibilities of battle."  
  
"I just said that! Weren't you listening?!" Sam said joking trying to lighten the mood. "God, no one listens to me. Now you go get some rest, I'll see you in the morning."  
  
"Okay, sweet dreams." Duo said before turning his back.  
  
"Don't let the bed bugs bite" Sam said back before stepping in her room. She was careful not to wake Aenne and she slid up onto the top bunk. She rolled over and stared into the black of the room, hoping that Aenne would be alright in the morning.  
  
"Good morning!" Duo said cheerfully as he walked into the food room. "How are my two favorite pilots?"  
  
"Tired." Aenne said quietly.  
  
"Bored." Sam said.  
  
"Oh." Duo said disappointed. "Well what are you going to do today?"  
  
"Sleep." Aenne replied.  
  
"I don't know." Sam said after Aenne.  
  
"Are two even awake?" Duo said eye-browing the two.  
  
"No." Aenne said still quiet  
  
"What's that? Awake. I do not know the concept of which you speak." Sam said staring at the wall.  
  
"That's great." Duo said dropping himself on a bench. He grabbed the remote on turned on the T.V. placed in the corner. What he saw, shocked him "A Gundam pilot was captured today on a space colony. Earlier, a statement was released denouncing support of the Gundam by the colony. The pilot and his Gundam were taken to the lunar base. The pilot is awaiting execution. The other pilots have not been found ..." Duo looked away disappointed.  
  
"What was Heero's mission yesterday?" Sam asked.  
  
"I don't know." Duo said quietly.  
  
"Are we going to go and retrieve him?" Aenne asked.  
  
"No," Sam said, "We can't take our Gundam's into space. Besides, Heero can take care of himself."  
  
"I can't believe it." Duo said hurt. "We are supposed to protect the colonies, but still, they denounce us. What are we going to do? We have no reason to fight."  
  
"Don't say that!" Aenne yelled. "They still need your protection."  
  
"We can't do anything to harm the colonies."  
  
"Then it's settled, we won't act until Oz makes the first move." Sam said cutting in. "Duo, tell us when you want to act. I'll stay behind you."  
  
"Yeah!" Aenne said, "Me too!"  
  
********  
  
The nation of Oz has spread its power to the colonies. After the pilot Heero Yuy was caught, the world power Oz, used the chance to seize the colonies, one by one. Former Alliance members, chose to support the Gundams, but could not show support openly, thus an underground was created with a strong noting of peace with in the colonies.  
  
"We haven't received orders ..." Sam trailed off, "It's time we go into space and act with out own feelings."  
  
"What should we do?" Quatre asked.  
  
"I don't know." Sam said back. "Anything .... we have that freedom now. But I'm going to rescue Heero. If we are going to destroy Oz, we will need him."  
  
"Then I'm going to with Sam to save Mr. Heero!" Aenne declared.  
  
"Hmm ..." Chang said in the silence that follows.  
  
"One thing remains, we can not allow Oz to take control of space. As long as we all want to destroy it, we will be allies." Sam said sternly.  
  
"Then only one thing remains," Duo said smiling, "stealing the carriers to go into space."  
  
"Then we will leave today. Prep what ever you need, we leave in an hour." Sam said finally.  
  
One by one, everyone left the food room until only Sam and Aenne were left.  
  
Aenne was quiet, the thought of going back into space sent shivers down her spine. She looked up at Sam who was sitting quietly on a bench, drinking her cup of coffee. "Are you sure going into space is the right thing?" Aenne asked quaintly. "Nope." Sam replied. "In all honesty, I don't know what to do, but going into space is a start."  
  
"Well, we are going to stick together, so everything will be all right!" Aenne said cheerfully.  
  
"Yeah!" Sam shouted back, "Now we only have an hour, so you might want to pack."  
  
"Pack?" Aenne said perplexed, "I can't pack in an hour!"  
  
"Then you just have to take what's on your person." Sam sat down her cup and walked out of the room, trailed by Aenne. Then Duo, went straight to their room, where Sam stuffed everything she needed into one bag then walked out of the room within the first five minutes.  
  
"What should I bring?" She asked looking at Ducky. "If you were me, what would you want to bring?" The cat, just stared back before letting out a meow. "Okay so I'll bring this and this and this, not this and his and this and this ..."  
  
When finished packing, Sam went to the loading bay and sat on the foot of Troublewind looking down at the floor. She heard the echo of footsteps approach her. She knew who it was instantly when she saw the black shoes beneath her. "Hi Duo." She said still looking down.  
  
"What is a pretty girl like you doing moping on the foot of a Gundam?" He asked.  
  
"Hey!" Sam shouted, "Who are you calling pretty!"  
  
"You! That who!" Duo said with cheerfulness.  
  
Sam shook her head quietly. "I don't want Aenne to get hurt. I need to ask a favor of you."  
  
"What is it?" Duo said concerned, "Anything, just ask."  
  
"Could you load this information into her Gundam?" Sam said holding up a disk. "It's all the data taken from the battles with the Mobile dolls."  
  
"Sure thing." Duo said taking the disk, "I can do that much for you." He climbed up Into TroubleWind and slipped the disk in. It took a few seconds to load, and as soon as Duo popped the disk out, Aenne came rushing into the room.  
  
"Hey! Duo whatcha doin' in my Gundam! A gundam is very personal! Shame on you!" She said with a smile on her face.  
  
"I'm sorry..My, my are we in a better mood?" He asked as he jumped from the looming mecha.  
  
"Possibly.." Aenne grinned.  
  
"Oh no.someone gave her sugar.." Sam lamented. "This trip is going to take a little too long for my liking!"  
  
"Sugar?" Duo's ears perked up with excitement. "I want sugar!"  
  
"No it's my sugar!!" Aenne protested as she hugged onto her stash of candy. Duo rushed over and grabbed a hold of the sacred sugar sack.  
  
"Gimme some!!" He gritted his teeth  
  
"Mine!" Aenne gritted hers as well as she tugged back.  
  
"Mine!" Sam shouted as grabbed the bag out of both their greedy hands and held it up past their reach. "No sugar for either! I refuse to deal with hyper beings on this voyage!"  
  
"But.But..But." Aenne's and Duo's eyes got all watery as they looked helplessly up at the candy.  
  
"Ah, ah, ah." Sam scolded. "I'm going to hold on to these till after our flight, then if you behave I'll let you have them back."  
  
"Ok!" Aenne instantly jumped into Troublewind. "Let's go save Mr. Heero!!" She proclaimed to her buddies. "To save him.and the candy from the clutches of evil!!"  
  
"Hey!!" Sam shouted in defense. "I'm not the clutches of evil!"  
  
"But you took my candy!" Aenne yelled back as she strapped herself in. "Hurry up!!!" She shouted at the two who still stood on the floor. "I want my candy back!"  
  
Duo also wanting the candy and to rescue Heero found himself loading into DeathScythe. And Sam who wanted to rescue Heero in the first place piled into a tauros. "Let's go." Sam commanded as the gundams roared with energy. Aenne still a little frightful of her journey back to space, pushed the button and appeared on a little screen in Duo's gundam.  
  
"Duo?" She asked.  
  
"Huh?" He said relaxing in DeathScythe.  
  
"I'll share my candy with you if you help me get it back."  
  
"Ok!" He agreed hastily.  
  
"So plan one for Operation: Get Candy back from Sam is that.hold on a sec." She scribbled a little picture on a piece of paper. "See there." She pointed to a little stick person with brown hair and big sharp teeth. "That's Sam, she's holdin' our precious items of consumption hostage."  
  
"Why does she have spiky teeth?"  
  
"Because she stole my candy!" Aenne's response left Duo dumbfounded. "Moving on." She pointed then to another stick figure with blonde hair and a little crown to the right of 'Sam' and then she indicated the other stick figure also with long brown hair(only in a braid) with little devil wings, which stood on the left of 'Sam'. "That's us! So you come from the left and start tickling her and while she's laughing like a hyena I'll sneak along and steal the candy back, and we flee in victory!!"  
  
"Nice try." Sam said bluntly, popping up on the screen. "It'll take more than that to get back the candy. And by the way it's very yummy." She grinned. "How dare you!!" Aenne glared back at Sam. "Listening in on our plans! Fiendish knave!"  
  
"What ever. It's not like I couldn't hear you."  
  
"MS Dolls! 9 o'clock!" Duo shouted, interrupting the clash. Two MS flew in close shooting ammo wildly Duo pulled out his scythe and sliced them in half.  
  
"Let's get 'em!" Sam shouted as she fired her flamethrower, engulfing a few MS in red flames.  
  
"Right!" Aenne brought forth her shining katana and rushed at five of the mindless mechas. With one swipe to her right, three went down, and another swipe to the left, and the other two fell.  
  
While Duo stood in the front line fending off the enemy, Aenne and Sam fought back-to-back, making sure each other were safe. "They keep coming." Aenne remarked. "There's no end to them!!"  
  
"Thanks for pointing out the obvious." Sam said shielding herself from a full on slot of bullets. "Could be wor-" Sam was cut off by a fairly large explosion. It came from where Duo was fighting.  
  
"DUO!!!" The two girls screamed. "DUO!!"  
  
"Don't worry. I'm ok." He said weakly as a stream of blood trickled down his pale cheek. DeathScythe had taken a blow to the right shoulder and was still functional, just not in the greatest of all conditions.  
  
Sam shouted to Aenne. "Come on! We have to protect him!" Aenne was thinking the exact same thing as they both huddled near their hurt partner. The bullets kept flying and the mobile suits kept shooting. "There is just too many." Sam shouted as she shot out her blaster in any direction. "We can't keep this up for long, I'm running low on ammo."  
  
There is no way we can beat them in hand to hand combat." Aenne said limited to just her katanas.  
  
"Guys, if I self-destruct, you two can escape." Duo said looking at the monitors inside his Gundam. "You won't be able to protect me forever."  
  
"No!" Aenne screamed, "We are all leaving this battlefield! I won't let you waste your life."  
  
"Besides," Sam strained, "You don't want to do something you might regret."  
  
"But one life is worth the price of two." Duo continued. "I won't let you be destroyed. If I do self-destruct, I can take out many of the other MS suits-"  
  
"NO!" Aenne screamed, "We are all leaving.  
  
"We do have another choice." Sam said quietly, " I know you won't like it Duo, but surly, surrender would be an alternative to death."  
  
"But that means you have to surrender too." Duo said in protest. "I might not be able to protect you if we surrender."  
  
"We have to." Sam shot back quickly, "We are losing and you said yourself, you won't let us be destroyed. You know we would never let that happen to you."  
  
"Then it's settled, we surrender." Aenne said ending all conversation.  
  
"Allright then." Sam added, "I guess all that's left is shutting down. I'll raise the white flag." She turned her head and punched in some keys codes then pressed enter, smiling all the while. "Done, you know how it works, shut down the Gundam and step out so they can arrest us."  
  
"Don't forget the candy!" Aenne screamed in desperation. "You never know what might happen, smuggle it with you."  
  
"I got you." Sam said taking the bag of candy and stuffin it inside of her space suit.  
  
"Let's not keep our captures waiting." Duo said opening Deathscythe. Aenne followed suit and opened hers. Their space suits were the only thing protecting them from the vacuum of space. Sam was the last to step out, her suit bulging. 


	10. Chapter 10

The hallway was just like the base, dark and nothing but plated steel. Duo's head hung low as he stepped lightly, followed by his two best friends. Their arms were in shackles and gunpoint followed them in silence. They watched as so many other cells went by, each empty. Somehow, an endless hallway lead to a plain door with two guards next to it.  
  
"Here are the other pilots." One guard said to the other. "Open the cell." The door opened and Aenne, Duo and Sam were pushed onto the floor.  
  
"You were captured." a monotone voice called out.  
  
"Mr. Heero?" Aenne asked.  
  
"You could be a little nicer!" Duo started, "We came to save you."  
  
"Your mission failed." He responded.  
  
"We can see that captain obvious." Sam said sitting up in the dark. "Where are we?"  
  
"Barge." Heero said quietly. "There is something you should know."  
  
"What's that," Aenne asked sitting next to Sam.  
  
"Trowa is here."  
  
"What?" Duo exclaimed. "I thought he was dead, or something."  
  
"Poor Quatre." Aenne said whimpering. "Sam, give me some candy." Sam took out the bag of candy and handed it to Aenne.  
  
"Gimme some candy too!" Duo said scampering over to Aenne. Just as he got a piece of candy in his mouth the door opened. Trowa stepped in wearing an oz uniform.  
  
"You!" He said pointing to Duo, "Come with me."  
  
"Be careful Duo!" Aenne said to his back. The door slammed shut leaving Aenne and Sam in the same room as Mr. Monotone.  
  
"Is Trowa with the enemy?" Sam asked Heero.  
  
"Yes," he said plainly.  
  
"What?" Aenne asked, "That traitor! If Quatre knew about this he would beat him down!"  
  
"In more ways then one." Sam smirked.  
  
****  
  
"Barge is going to play an important part in the future." Trowa said quietly to Duo in a small white interrogation room. "Everyone who is going to fight for the future is drawn to this place. Even the scientists are here."  
  
"What?" Duo exclaimed, "Professor G is here?"  
  
"They are all here. They are interested in Aenne and Sam." Trowa went on. "The two suits, Troublewind and the former HellfireDevil, were the models that our new gundams are going to be based on. Those two must live through this."  
  
"What's so important about them?" Duo asked in concern.  
  
"They must live." Trowa said turning his back. "Make sure they do."  
  
"Okay, I'll try, but they may be too much for me." Duo said grinning a grin. "We have candy back in the cell."  
  
"When you get back, my orders are to interrogate Aenne and Sam." Trowa went on.  
  
"What are you going to do to them?" Duo asked immediately. "If you hurt them, or let anyone hurt them, I'll kill you."  
  
"Nothing of the sort. There are going to meet the scientists." Trowa stopped. "I have to hit you now."  
  
"Well, hurry up and do it." Duo said closing his eyes. The next thing he felt was Trowa's fist hitting him square in the jaw knocking him back out of his chair. Then he felt a kick to the stomach.  
  
"You know, if you screamed, it wouldn't hurt as much." Trowa said to the curled body before him.  
  
"Oh yeah?" Duo sputtered, "Well my mama said real men don't scream."  
  
****  
  
"I wonder if Duo's okay." Aenne said sticking another piece of candy in her mouth.  
  
"I'm sure he's fine, after all, he is Duo. Only the greatest pilot in the world." Sam said assuring Aenne.  
  
"Your flattery is pointless." Heero commented.  
  
"I know it is." Sam said turning to his voice, "He's not here to listen to it."  
  
"Ooh!" Aenne jeered, "You have a crush on Duo!"  
  
"I wouldn't think that way." Sam said smiling to herself. "I know you do too."  
  
"I do not!" Aenne said back shocked. "Well you like him more then me!"  
  
"No, you do!" Sam retorted.  
  
"You do!"  
  
"You do!" The yelling match continued and even involved some candy throwing. In the end, neither of them won. They declared that Cary loved Duo the most, just to shut each other up.  
  
"You won't tell Duo will you?" Sam asked concerned. "If you knew, he would never let me forget it."  
  
"As long as you don't tell him that I do." Aenne said back.  
  
"You got a deal."  
  
"You do realize that your love for Duo is a weakness." Heero said plainly.  
  
"Well, you realize we have something to fight for, we have something to protect." Sam stopped and looked at Aenne. "If anything, it's a strength." Sam stopped just in time to see Duo get pushed into the room bruised and battered.  
  
"Ow." Duo said as he landed.  
  
"Are you okay?" Aenne said rushing to his side.  
  
"I'm fine." Duo said smiling. "I have good news. The scientists are rebuilding and improving our Gundams. I can't wait until they are done. But for now, I'm going to get some sleep."  
  
Along with Aenne, Sam rushed over to her beaten friend. "Duo!" She called to him, but by now he was not really awake. (Trowa had quite some hidden rage) Aenne cradled Duo's head in her lap, while Sam instantly ripped off part of her long sleeve shirt. She dipped in the cold water, that the soldiers had provided them with and then handed the soaked cloth to Aenne. Aenne gently rubbed his wounds, cleaning then; she wiped the blood dripping slowly from the corner of his pale swollen lips.  
  
"Duo.." Aenne looked at him as if he were a poor little child. Her sadness soon turned to anger though. "Who ever did this to you!!" She clenched her teeth.  
  
"Don't worry." Sam comforted her, placing her hand on Aenne's shoulder. "We'll pay them back tenfold."  
  
A few minutes had past, Duo's face was almost totally normal again with Sam and Aenne still cautiously taking care of him. Heero just sat and watched the minutes go by, with out talk or response. Suddenly, Trowa walked in, with two henchmen on either side. "Your turn." He pointed to Sam and Aenne.  
  
"Why you!!" Aenne growled at Trowa.  
  
"Quiet." Trowa made a swift hand motion, causing his henchmen to go and grab the ladies. Trowa's right hand man, rushed over to Sam and pushed her constantly to move.  
  
"I'm going, I'm going." She muttered as he forced her out of the door.  
  
"Hurry up you!" The left hand man sneered at Aenne.  
  
"Hold on..let me make sure Duo's head is secure." Before Aenne had the chance to kindly place Duo's bruised head on the hard ground, the guard furiously yanked on Aenne's hair, forcing her on her feet and making Duo's head bang hard against the cold floor.  
  
"NOW!" The guard bellowed shoved her towards Trowa and the others.  
  
Seeing as how there was no way to fight back yet, Aenne just called out to the silent pessimistic pilot. "Take care of Duo for us! We'll be back soon!" She smiled, and Heero just huffed.  
  
Soon the girls found themselves alone with Trowa in the same interrogation room as Duo found himself in(minus the chair). Aenne had slumped up against a wall, and Sam stood protectively beside her. Both their hands were tied behind their backs but the legs were free.  
  
"So I finally get to see you two again." Trowa said breaking the eerie silence.  
  
"Shut up Trowa!" Aenne shouted angrily. "What did you do to Duo!?!"  
  
"Nothing that matters..put it behind you." Trowa leered at the two.  
  
"What!? You beat up our best bud and you expect me to 'put it behind'!? Come on! I'll take you out even with out my hands!" Aenne jumped up excitedly as vengeance flowed through her veins. No one was going to get away with hurting Duo, no one.  
  
"Aenne!" Sam stopped her with her solid tone. Aenne looked over her shoulder at Sam, who still relaxed against the 'comfy' wall. She tilted her head. "Can I join you?"  
  
Aenne nodded. As the two rushed bang boy, Trowa pulled out a gun and aimed it right at Sam's head. "I think not."  
  
"Damn." Sam cursed. "I guess you've won."  
  
"Not yet!" Aenne trickily kicked the gun out of Trowa's hand and then kicked him in the face. "Ha!" She stated in satisfaction.  
  
"You'll get nothing out us." Sam announced.  
  
"Fools." Trowa mumbled. "Stupid fools." He got up, holding onto his soar jaw. "Good thing your still Gundam pilots..Listen, just follow along.the scientists need to talk to you."  
  
"Scientists?" Sam stepped back disgusted, she did not want to talk to some old scary guys in white lab coats. "What if we don't wanna talk to these 'scientists'? Huh?"  
  
"Yeh!" Aenne added.  
  
"Then...I'll have to kill you." His stare looked deathly serious. He meant what he said, and he would do it. Frightened, Aenne stepped back to meet Sam. "Now come along nicely." He walked towards the back wall. He stopped a few inches before and punched a few buttons in a pad. A hidden door opened to reveal another huge darkened room. He motioned for the two pilots to go into the room.  
  
"I don wanna." Aenne whimpered to Sam. "Scary old guys."  
  
"It's ok. We'll take 'em on!" Sam encouraged her shivering friend. Aenne hid behind Sam's back as they traveled into the darkness. Trowa closely follow the girls.  
  
"It's about time you brought them to us." An elder squeaky voice bellow over a loud speaker sending shivers up the two girls spines. Two bright white lights fell upon them, temporarily blinding them. "Healthy looking pilots.no wonder their Gundams were so strong." The elder voice continued to speak.  
  
"Sam.." Aenne whispered. "They really are scary."  
  
"Welcome back Trowa." An old man appeared from the shadows. His gray hair formed to the shape like a mushroom cap, covering everything to his nose, which poked out like a tree branch. A scar traveled down the side of his face until reaching his gray mustache. He grinned as Trowa tilted his head acknowledging the scientist.  
  
"I brought them."  
  
"Yes yes!" The squeaky voice said with a hint of excitement. "To the gundams.."  
  
"I don't want to see any gundam until we know Duo's ok!!" Sam protested, sticking up for the two.  
  
"Duo." He rolled the name off his tongue. "Yes, Duo will be just fine. He's a nice kid, bit of a trouble maker, but he's a kid."  
  
"Whaaaat!?" Aenne asked confused. "How do you know Duo?"  
  
"Me..I constructed Gundam DeathScythe."  
  
"Thanks Trowa." Sam said tilting her head. "We put on a good show."  
  
"What?" Aenne asked still confused, "I don't understand."  
  
"In order to bring us here, we had to make it look like Trowa was a soldier of Oz. That's why we had to fight him and he had to win." Sam explained happily.  
  
"What about what he did to Duo?!" Aenne asked again.  
  
"That was also for show." Sam continued. "Trowa may have gone a little overboard, but it was necessary." She stopped as Aenne nodded yes as if she understood everything. She then looked at the scientist closest to her. "You are professor G?"  
  
"Yes." he said simply  
  
"Good, then you can tell me how to find Howard."  
  
"Who?" Aenne asked.  
  
"Yes ... Howard." Professor G thought, "I will tell you how to reach him, but first we must complete your Gundam."  
  
"Where is it?" Sam asked a little excited. "Will it be like HellfireDevil?"  
  
"Yes, but we are improving it, as well as Heero's, Duo's and Aenne's." Professor G continued.  
  
"I need to get you back to your cell." Trowa said quietly. "No interrogation takes this long."  
  
"But you are dealing with extra-special Gundam pilots!" Aenne shouted.  
  
"He's right." Sam enforced, "Besides poor Duo is in there ... alone with Heero."  
  
"Poor Duo!" Aenne whimpered, "Let's go back right now!" Trowa led them through the once hidden door back into the interrogation room. Their shackles were replaced and they were lead through the hall back to their cell with the common brutality that one would expect inside a prison. Once at their cell, they were pushed to the floor the same as Duo was.  
  
"How did it go?" They heard their familiar buddy ask.  
  
"Good." Sam replied.  
  
"Trowa is a poo head!" Aenne yelled. "I can't believe that Quatre loves him! I just don't get it!"  
  
"I don't get it either." Sam said smiling. "I thought Duo and Quatre were going to end up together."  
  
"What!" Duo exclaimed. "That's so very wrong. That would never happen because I love-" Duo stopped himself short and blushed.  
  
"You love who?" Sam said leaning in.  
  
"He loves me!" Aenne said jumping up. Her legs ran to Duo where she glomped him harshly, knocking him back. Sam fell back in laughter holding her sides.  
  
"That's so wrong!" She said pointing at the two in their awkward embrace. "That's just so wrong!"  
  
"Your just jealous!" Aenne said hugging Duo tighter.  
  
"Ladies, Ladies!" Duo said interrupting what could have been a horrible argument, "There is enough Duo for everyone!" His gleaming smile was met with cold stare and eerie silence from Aenne and Sam. The silence was broken when Heero finally said something.  
  
"Your faintly is unjustified." He said in a cold cut matter.  
  
"You're jealous too!" Duo said sticking his nose in the air. "I have the love of the two most beautiful women in the world."  
  
"Hey!" Sam shouted at him, "Who you calling woman?"  
  
"You, that's who!" Duo said still in the clutches of Aenne.  
  
"Take is back!" Sam said standing up.  
  
"Never!" Duo said moving Aenne ever so slightly as to block the oncoming tackle.  
  
"Take it back!" Sam repeated, but louder.  
  
"No, I don't think I will." Duo said smiling.  
  
"Maybe you should." Aenne cut in, "I don't think it's good for Sam's health to be called woman."  
  
"Perhaps you're right ..." Duo trailed off, "But I won't take it back."  
  
"That's it!" Sam said charging forward. She pushed Aenne out of harms way and knocked Duo on his back just like Aenne did when she glomped him. She stood over his body, looking down on him. "Now, take it back!"  
  
"Never!" Duo shouted up to Sam.  
  
"Fine, we'll do this the hard way." Sam sneered. She bent over and started tickling Duo's sides. His laughter was only slowed when he begged Sam to stop.  
  
"Hey!" Aenne shouted, "That's not fair! I want to tickle Duo!"  
  
"Then do!" Sam said back. Aenne rushed forward and tickled Duo's back.  
  
"Stop! Stop!" Duo screamed back. "I take it back!"  
  
"You won't get off that easy!" Sam shouted as she increased the tickling. His screams of laughter echoed in the small cell. But like all things, Aenne and Sam soon tired themselves out. When that happened, they both took a shoulder, Aenne on Duo's right, and Sam on the left. They both had one arm draped over their bodies. The three slept there keeping each other warm.  
  
"Food!" The guard yelled loudly when the little sliding screen on the door popped open.  
  
"Yay!" Sam shouted, "Breakfast!" She took all the servings and handed them out to each of her inmates before digging in. Today's meal consisted of watered down oatmeal, a slice of bread and a glass of water, each which disappeared momentarily. "Mmm-mmm!" Sam exclaimed, "That was good!" She saw blank stares look her in the eye. "You gonna finish that?" She said pointing to Duo's plate.  
  
"No, no. You can have it." She grabbed the plate and ate in as fast as her first helping.  
  
"How can she eat this?" Duo said leaning over to Aenne and whispering. "It's disgusting!" "I don't know." Aenne said making a gagging face at Sam, "I just don't know."  
  
"Hey guys, last night I had this really funny dream last night." Sam said addressing Duo and Aenne. "It was really weird. Quatre's name was Quatro, my name was Uno, and Aenne, your name was Trio. We were undercover with Duo. The four of us were in the Sanc kingdom. Our mission was to find Cary and rescue her from the brainwashing of that evil, evil woman Relena."  
  
"Woah, woah. woah!" Aenne said shaking her head. "My name was Trio?"  
  
"Yeah, it was really, really odd." Sam said looking up. "What are those funny looks for? Stop looking at me!" Duo and Aenne looked at each other then back at Sam.  
  
"You know, I think she's finally lost it," Aenne whimpered to Duo.  
  
"I think you are right." Duo whispered, "Soon, she'll start talking to the walls."  
  
"You three!" Trowa shouted from the door, "Come with me!"  
  
"What for?" Duo asked aloud.  
  
"Just come with me!" Trowa responded.  
  
"Not again." Aenne sighed, muttering under her breath.  
  
Again the soldiers put shackles on their arms and feet, each spread out evenly, and forced to walk at gunpoint. Duo was the leader, Sam paced in the middle, and Aenne followed behind. This time they were brought into a huge room, than some simple interrogation room.  
  
"I need all three of you to pilot! We must destroy the approaching enemy." An OZ officer commanded, shoving a gun into Duo's face. "And you WILL destroy it."  
  
"Don't get that greedy." Trowa took the gun from the young officers hands. "We'll only need two of them. The other two will stay here for further inspection." Duo sighed as the gun withdrawled from his forehead, he had to many guns pointed at his head for comfort. "Besides I'm coming along." Trowa added.  
  
"Well count me out." Aenne mumbled.  
  
"Silence!!!" The crazy over-commanding OZ officer bellowed.  
  
"That's enough. I'll be fine by myself." Trowa instructed the officer to take his leave.  
  
"S-Sir Trowa." He stammered. "Will you be okay with four gundam pilots?"  
  
"Yes. They are in chains." He pointed the obvious to the frighten officer. "Go wait outside." Soon though he did walk out the door, leaving the five alone in the prison cell.  
  
"Which two are going?" Heero asked, leaning up against the wall (the famous Heero pose).  
  
"I'm going that's for sure!!" Duo chimed. "There ain't no way I'm staying in here any longer."  
  
"That doesn't matter. We have already chosen the best pilots for this mission."  
  
"Well what is it!?" Sam shouted slightly annoyed with Trowa. "Don't just stand there blabbing, tell us what's going on!"  
  
"If you must. It seems that a Gundam is headed in our direction. We.have to take care of it."  
  
"Gundam." Sam thought aloud. "But that means its either Quatre or Chang."  
  
Trowa nodded, while silence filled the cell. Each person thought about the situation that presented itself, the realization that they were fighting one of their own.  
  
Aenne intruded upon the silence with her comments. "But we can't fight them!!" She protested.  
  
"Now you sound like Quatre!" Sam lightly shoved Aenne out of the way. "So who's going?"  
  
"You and Duo." Trowa looked straight into Sam's eyes. "I'll be back to get you in ten minutes." Trowa turned around and headed for the door.  
  
"Surely you can't fight against our friends." Aenne beckoned, trying to knock some sense into Trowa.  
  
"That pilot is no longer our friend as long as we are in OZ's control." He promptly walked out the door and left the four pilots to their jail.  
  
"Damn he plays it good." Duo commented. "He should just relax once and a while."  
  
"Yeh." Sam agreed while Aenne went off mumbling things about 'stupid Trowa'. The pilots spent most of the ten minutes in their minds, figuring out what to do next. Sam and Duo were talking over strategies in one corner. Aenne watched them, while Heero watched Aenne. Soon Trowa barged though the door followed by one lonely OZ person. He pointed to Sam and Duo, who were then unchained and unshackled. Sam stood up and looked at him.  
  
"We fight Quatre." Trowa responded as if reading her mind.  
  
As the three left, Duo and Sam waved bye to Aenne who sat I the middle of the floor of the cell. After the door slammed shut with a threatening boom, the blonde said her goodbye. "Good luck you two. Don't get killed..and don't kill Quatre.." Aenne sighed. "Stupid Trowa!" Aenne muttered again to no one in particular (seeing as how Heero was not likely to respond). "Why does he havta go and do that?"  
  
"Can't you see the pain in his eyes?" Heero spoke, lifting his head from the shadows. Aenne looked up at Heero uneasy. "He's obviously troubled by this. He masks it over just so no one will notice. This will be the most difficult thing for him to face, even he realizes it."  
  
Aenne pondered Heero's words. She had never thought of it to be like that. She sighed still confused over the whole ordeal. 


	11. Chapter 11

Sam and Duo trudged behind OZ's Trowa. Silence was understood as they traveled to their docking bay.  
  
"'ey!!" Duo shouted to Trowa. "What exactly are we going to be fighting in? Our gundams are gone." He lamented, missing his buddy, his gundam.  
  
"These.." Trowa pointed to three mobile suits. "Since your gundams are being repaired, you'll you the Mobile suits.  
  
"These?" Duo whined. "But these are so uncool!"  
  
"I agree with Duo on that." Sam glanced over the ugly fighting machines. "But I call the blue one!" Sam called out to the hunk of junk that was propped up against the wall.  
  
"But that one looks like it'll fall apart the instant you shoot it's beam gun." Dou had a confused look oh his face.  
  
"Exactly! It's better than that new icky red thing." She pointed to the other scrap of metal. "That thing has a shield, it's cheap!"  
  
"Then you've decided. Sam you get he Vayeate. Duo yours is the Mercurious. I will go in a simple Taurus to help alongside. Remember there are lots of civilians in the colony we will be fighting for. Be careful." Without thought, Trowa instinctively climbed into the MS. Sam and Duo followed. Sam popped in on Duo's little screen.  
  
"Hey you!" Sam smiled, but it soon turned to a frown. "Don't kill yourself!!! I don't want to be cleaning up space with Dou body parts floating around."  
  
"What makes you think I'm going to get killed? I am Shinigami after all!" Duo boasted.  
  
"Let's just say Aenne's warning you that's all." Sam tapped her head. They left on that note, and the two dashed through space awaiting the deadly battle that lay before them.  
  
****  
  
"I have visual!" Trowa shouted over the P.A. Sam clicked on her screen to see the mobile suit. "Be careful, we have unconfirmed reports that the pilot destroyed an entire colony."  
  
"What!" Duo said shocked, "But how could anyone do that?"  
  
"It doesn't matter!" Sam said aiming the beam cannon at the mobile suit, "If they did destroy a colony, we must destroy them!"  
  
"Wait!" Trowa said flying in front of Duo and Sam, "First let me check who it is. They might just be an ally."  
  
"He's crazy." Duo said looking away. "Anyone who can destroy a colony isn't human anymore."  
  
Trowa flew swiftly towards the other mobile suit. He stopped fifty yards away and opened communications. Duo and Sam listened in intently.  
  
"We aren't here to fight you." Trowa said simply. "Who are you?"  
  
"Just stay away." A familiar voice called, "Don't make me hurt you."  
  
"Quatre?" Trowa whispered.  
  
"Stay away!" Quatre yelled back. "Don't try and stop me."  
  
"What are you going to do?" Trowa said holding back a tear.  
  
"I'm going to destroy this colony. It's the only way."  
  
"No!" Duo screamed, "We have to stop him!"  
  
"Duo, don't rush in." Sam said stopping Duo, "Let Trowa talk it out first."  
  
"I can't let you do that." Trowa said inching forward.  
  
"Stay back!" Quatre yelled, "I warned you!" Duo and Sam watched at a large beam erupted from Quatre's mobile suit. The blast burned Sam's eyes as she watched in horror.  
  
"We have to stop him!" Duo shouted.  
  
"No one person should ever have that much power." Sam whispered. "It's too much."  
  
"I told you!" Quatre screamed, "Don't come closer. I'll destroy all of you!"  
  
"What did you do that for?" Trowa whispered more to himself then to anyone. "What ever happened to the kind person I knew?"  
  
"Trowa ..." Quatre said tearing up, "It's the only way. Outer Space has gone crazy. I'm going to blow up the colony."  
  
"No!" Duo screamed. He lunged forwards toward Quatre screaming. He was stopped in his tracks when another burst erupted from Quatre. Duo barely moved out of the way. Sam watched in horror as she saw the damage done to Duo. His left arm was completely blown off shooting spark into the emptiness of space.  
  
"No." Trowa said with a held back whimper. "I can't let you hurt anyone else. You used to be so kind."  
  
"Move out of the way." Sam directed. She pulled the trigger on her own beam gun blasting Quatre back into the Colony.  
  
"No don't!" Duo yelled. "You might damage the colony." Sam didn't hear anything. She focused on her enemy.  
  
"He must be destroyed." Sam said in a cold harsh voice. "I won't let him hurt anyone."  
  
"No!" Trowa screamed as Sam pulled the trigger again.  
  
Duo gazed in alarm. "Don't be a fool! Get out of the way Trowa!"  
  
"What?" Quatre said wide-eyed. "Trowa ... why?" He stared up at Trowa's suit. Sam's blast had practically destroyed it. All that was left was the charred remains of Trowa's suit.  
  
"This suit is going to blow." Trowa said in a sad voice. "Quatre, Space needs kind people like you. You need to live. Quatre, bring back that kind heart." As quickly as he came, Trowa's suit blew up and for the second time, Quatre's heart was torn out of his chest.  
  
"Why did he do that?" Quatre cried, "Why?"  
  
"It's your fault he's dead!" Sam screamed. "You caused all of this!"  
  
"I didn't mean to." Quatre said sobbing, "I didn't ..."  
  
"Don't be so hard." Duo said quietly. Sam didn't hear anything. She was angry, furious with Quatre and his weakness. She didn't act, but stared coldly.  
  
********  
  
Aenne sighed as she sat alone in the cell with Heero. The guards had brought in some 'yummy' gruel for their prisoners to eat, hers stood silently on the floor, cold. Her tummy grumbled loudly as she stared at the distasteful glop of food. "I want real food..."  
  
********  
  
Meanwhile, back at the place where everything started, Chang Wufei, meditated in his room, on his bunk. He was the only one left, the rest were either captured or battling. Somehow Chang could ignore all that was going on and wander in his own subconscious mind. He blocked everything from disturbing his state. Pure silence filtered into his room, and loomed around for quite a while. Something, somewhere drifted into Wufei's head, it disrupted his nothingness. He tried to shake it off but it would not leave. It burned deep within his mind and it would not stop until he did something about it. With a grunt his eyes shot open and he stared at the wall across from him. "Damn." He muttered as he slid his legs off the bed and onto the floor. He struggled a little to get himself up, but managed. Chang walked out of his room and down the hall, passing the other's rooms. He stopped momentarily at the end of the hall and looked back before turning to the docking bay.  
  
********  
  
All through space there was an eerie silence, as the three remaining pilots were deep in their own thoughts. Tears streamed down Quatre's eyes in regret, while the two brunettes looked at each other.  
  
********  
  
"I wonder what's going on up there?" Aenne pondered looking up at the cell's ceiling. "I hope they are all alright." Aenne talked to herself, seeing as how neither the walls nor Heero would be up to talking, but she tried anyway. "You must have some doubts about the war and about to happen.."  
  
"What happens happens. We cannot change that." Heero spoke slowly and quietly.  
  
"But what about all the suffering that goes on because of this!? Don't you ever think that maybe we aren't doing the right thing?" The latter asked.  
  
"Sometimes to do the right thing...you must do the wrong things first.."  
  
Aenne listened to Heero's wisdom that she never knew he held. She contemplated about this and everything else and decided that she would not say anything more.  
  
BOOM!! A huge explosion came from the left side of the building.  
  
"Hey! Run!" The guards, who stood outside the door, ran away to check out the detonation. "Oh!" Shocked reactions came from the guards as they looked upon the wreckage.  
  
Aenne ran (well more like hobbled since she was still in shackles) Up to the prison door. "Let us out!!" She screamed as she banged on the wooden door. "Don't let us die in here!!" She continued to shout. "DARN!" Aenne kicked the door in frustration.  
  
"Woman! Stop yelling!" A familiar voice came from the other side.  
  
Aenne slowly looked up through the metal bars. She stared straight at the person who stood before her. "Wu.Fei.."  
  
"What are you staring at woman." Wufei said coldly. "Don't you know a jailbreak when you see one." He opened the door looking at Heero, knowing that he would be able to act.  
  
"Chang." Heero said standing up slowly. "We must leave quickly. Where are the Mobile suits?"  
  
"That isn't the mission." Chang said handing a small handgun to Heero.  
  
"What?" Aenne asked exasperated. "I don't understand."  
  
Chang turned and glared at Aenne before calmly saying, "Just follow."  
  
The now trio peered out the door before stepping out. Chang took the lead, with Heero watching their backs. Aenne just walked, not quite sure what to do with herself as they ran through the halls.  
  
"I set explosives in the munitions bay." Chang said as they stopped at door.  
  
"It won't take them long to know we are gone." Heero stated plainly. As he looked up, he saw Chang push down on the detonator. A moment of silence followed, but was soon followed by a roar of explosions and flames engulfed the hall.  
  
"Hey!" Aenne yelled. "Next time tell me when you are going to set explosions so close to me! What if my hair caught on fire! Then where would we be?"  
  
"Shut up woman." Wufei commanded as he grabbed onto her arm and pulled her through the door. "In the shuttle craft."  
  
"The scientists?" Heero asked walking slowly aboard.  
  
"I would not worry about them until you have assured your own life first." Chang responded.  
  
"Excuse me!" Aenne shouted, "Why do I feel so out of the loop?"  
  
"Shut up woman and get in the shuttlecraft." Chang pointed out.  
  
"But my Gundam!" Aenne protested.  
  
"No time." Chang said stepping aboard the shuttlecraft, Heero following slowly behind. "You can get your Gundam later."  
  
"But, but, but .." Aenne started, "What about poor Duo, and Sam?"  
  
"Nevermind about them." Chang said coldly, "Worry about yourself first."  
  
*******  
  
"Are you sure going Earth is a good idea?" Duo asked Sam rather quietly.  
  
"I don't know where else to go." Sam replied sadly. "The colonies hate us ... we can never be safe there, but at least on Earth, we can hide. I'm just tired of running."  
  
"What will do with Quatre?" Duo asked after a moment.  
  
"We have to take him with us." She looked down at her hands. "We can't leave him alone, not after that. We have to take care of him. He can't be alone."  
  
"What about Aenne?" Duo asked quietly.  
  
"Aenne will be safe where she is." Sam continued sadly.  
  
"Yeah." Duo said smirking, "I have this feeling that she'll be okay."  
  
******  
  
"Chang!" Aenne yelled, "Where are we going!?"  
  
"To Earth." He said somberly.  
  
"Why? What's there? I don't see why I should have to go." She said turning her head to glare at Heero who was quietly resting in a seat next to Chang. "I mean, the only good thing about Earth is the food. Wait! If I go back, I get food! Yes!!! Let's go to Earth."  
  
"Our Gundams?" Heero asked still with his eyes closed.  
  
"The scientists will send them, after they finish upgrading them." Chang looked ahead into space, "There are more things we need to consider now. The conflict on Earth must end before we can end the conflict in space. Treize must die before anything can be done."  
  
"I don't get it." Aenne said sitting. "What does Treize have to do with anything?" "He controls everything that happens on Earth." Chang replied with hate lingering in his voice. "All power can be traced back to him."  
  
"But I still don't get it." Aenne said sitting down. She rested her head in her arms. She started to think if she was never going to see Sam and Duo again. Maybe she would see them on earth and then they could go out for Sushi and play on the beach like they used to on the base.  
  
"Chang." Heero said stopping Aenne's thoughts. "How will we find Treize?"  
  
"Don't worry." Chang said smiling. "He'll find us."  
  
*********  
  
Duo and Sam had recovered Quatre in his gundam and were dragging him along in outer space, making sure they stayed in the non-territorial areas to stay safe. "He sure has been quiet for a while." Duo tried to make conversation, since all were in their own little thoughts and worlds.  
  
"Well, I think it is the only way for him to stay sane at the moment." Sam answered also to make conversation. "Poor guy."  
  
"What would Aenne think if she knew.." Duo pondered, thinking of how his other buddy was still all-alone with Heero, and now Wufei (I'm not alone anymore.).  
  
"She'd be all sad cause Quatre here is depressed. And then I'd have to deal with two sad blondes..there would be no end to my misery." Sam lamented.  
  
"But at least Aenne would try to cheer us all up.."  
  
"Yeh, I guess so.Hey Duo!"  
  
"What?" Duo asked, surprised at Sam's sudden excitement.  
  
"How do ya keep a blonde busy for hours?  
  
"Uh..." He pondered, not knowing blondes that well he gave up. "How?"  
  
"Tell her to cheer up Heero!" Sam laughed out loud, then looked at Duo who sat there confused.  
  
"Sam, I don't get it..It's impossible..Heero happy?"  
  
"Idiot!" Sam bonked Duo on the head. "That's why it's funny! It's impossible!"  
  
Getting it a smile spread across his face. "That is pretty funny."  
  
*********  
  
"What do ya mean he'll find us!?" Aenne asked, yet again still puzzled. "Does he have some sort of beeping tracker device on us?" Aenne imagined a little beeping tracker device on the side of the ship. "We have to get it off then! He can't find us yet!! I need my TroubleWind!!" Aenne shot up from the seat, ready to go unattach the beeping tracker device.  
  
"Sit down woman!" Sexy Wufei (I mean Chang.) grabbed a hold of Aenne's arm, and pulled her down, back into her seat. "Relax." Wufei said calming his voice. "We want him to find us, it saves us the time. Time enough for you to be quiet and rest." Chang commanded.  
  
This time, Aenne listened and sat quietly in her seat. She twiddled her fingers and imagined playing rock paper scissors with Duo and arm wrestling Sam. After five minutes she got bored and looked around for something else to do. Wufei was meditating while Heero was moping and now Aenne was pouting. "Sigh." She sighed out loud, hoping for someone to notice and pat attention to her. Nothing. "SIGH!!" She said louder, but still no answer at all. "Darn you boys!!" Aenne got up and wandered off to the back of the ship, maybe there was something to do there. She missed all her luggage with every other odd thing in it. She remembered the badminton set she packed along and wished she had it now.it was the perfect place to play. Now she wished more than ever that Sam and Duo were here. 


	12. Chapter 12

"Sam!" Duo tapped Sam on the shoulder. "Sam!" He said again. His mission now was to wake up Sam, who had had a very exhausting day. "At least I don't havta wake up Aenne..." He trailed off as he continued to poke Sam. "SAM!" He shouted finally awaking the sleeping pilot.  
  
"What!?" Sam rubbed her eyes, yawning. "What is it Duo?"  
  
"We're here!" He chimed "We're home! Well..you're home!"  
  
"Hooray..I guess.but now we havta find someplace to crash., that the others will also be able to find us." Sam stood in a contemplating stance.  
  
"The base?" Duo asked.  
  
"Too predictable." Which scratched out that though.  
  
"What about.what's her name.the chick with the hair... " Duo said very vaguely.  
  
"CARY!?!"  
  
"Yeh!! That's her name!"  
  
"Duo!" Sam said excitedly.  
  
"Yes?" He answered not sure what Sam was thinking.  
  
"You are the best!!" She grabbed onto Duo's hands and dragged him along to Cary's house.  
  
**********  
  
At Cary's house(Well..Cary's new home in the Sanq Kingdom.)  
  
"Darn it!" Cary ran from her kitchen with her just perfectly microwaved milk for the little kitties she had to baby-sit for. "Stop the insanity!!" She screamed as the kitties began to whine and meow continuously. "The pain!!" She grasped onto her head, trying to ignore to echoing sounds, when suddenly there was a ring at the door. "Coming!" She ran all the way back upstairs and opened the door to see two of her brain buddies.  
  
"Uh, Hi Cary!" Duo said looking at the blonde with orange tipped hair. "Can we hide here for a while?"  
  
"Silly Duo! What are you doing out there in the cold? Come in! Come in!" Cary welcomed him in, leading him over to the couch and sat him down and wrapped a blanket over his shoulders.  
  
"What about me!? What about Sam!?" She moped , walking through the door.  
  
"SAM!! You're back!!" Cary ran over and hugged her buddy. "How was your mission or what ever you did? And where's Heero!?(no love for Aenne..)"  
  
"Well, a lot has happened since then.And it's a very long story." Duo trailed off.  
  
"I have the time and the sugar!" Cary was going to here it one way or another.  
  
"Sugar!?" Duo ears twitched to the sound of what would become hyperness. "We'll tell you.just give me the sugar!!"  
  
"You tell her." Sam said looking at Duo.  
  
"Where is Aenne?" Cary asked as she looked around. Quatre stood; his body was trembling as he tried to stand still in the cold. Cary saw the sad look in his eyes and hugged him softly, as if the slightest pressure would break him. "What happened to Quatre?" She said turning to Sam and Duo who were already lounging on the couch.  
  
"Get the sugar and we'll tell you." Duo said smirking.  
  
"Gosh, I hope nothing bad happened." Cary said walking into the kitchen leaving the pilots to themselves.  
  
"Do you think the Gundams will be hidden well enough?" Sam asked aloud to know one in particular.  
  
"They should be fine." Duo answered, "I hope we can keep a low enough profile."  
  
"Yeah." Sam added as she sunk into the couch, "I'm so tired. I just want to sleep."  
  
Cary burst in with a smile and a pot of coffee and a five pound bag of sugar. "Now you guys can tell me what's happened when I last saw you!"  
  
"Okay." Sam said taking a deep breath. She poured herself a cup of coffee and poured a little bit of sugar in it. "Last we knew of you, Quatre and Trowa took you to the Sanc Kingdom."  
  
"Yes!" Cary shouted, "And you guys never said good-bye!"  
  
"We know that, we had a mission to China."  
  
"China?" Cary asked.  
  
"That was a tough mission." Duo said looking down. "I hated that."  
  
"What happened?" Cary asked.  
  
"That mission I had to self-destruct."  
  
"She used her Gundam to protect Aenne and I." Duo added for Sam, She put herself into a coma.  
  
"You went into a Coma!" Cary shouted, "That's so sad."  
  
"Oh that's wasn't the worst of what happened." Duo added. "The next mission Sam and I stayed on base while Chang, Heero, Quatre, Trowa and Aenne got to have all the fun!"  
  
"Supposedly, Aenne went to Chang's wife's grave." Sam added on.  
  
"That's so sad!" Cary said covering her mouth with one hand. "I didn't know he lost his wife."  
  
"Later on that mission, we lost Trowa for the first time." Duo added.  
  
"Where is Trowa now?" Cary asked with concern.  
  
"We don't know." Duo added, "He-" He stopped short on seeing a tear form on the corner of Quatre's eye.  
  
"Aenne got back to the base, and for a month, we all just kinda rested, until we heard the colonies denounce the Gundams."  
  
After that Sam went on with the story telling, "Aenne, Duo and I went back into space to find Heero. He didn't come back with Aenne on her mission; he stayed behind on a base in Space called Barge. We eventually got arrested. We did find Heero."  
  
"We had to share a cell with him for what seems like a long, long time." Duo said continuing on while Sam took sips from her coffee. "We also found Trowa on Barge. He had disguised himself as a soldier of Oz. We also met the creators of the Gundams there too. They took our Gundams and are upgrading them."  
  
"One day, Duo and I escaped." Sam said altering the ending of the story. "Aenne was left on Barge with Heero. We assume she is still there, but we can't go back and save her just yet."  
  
"Okay." Cary said trying to take everything in. "How did you end up with Quatre?"  
  
"We caught up with him in space." Sam added trying not to reopen any old wounds.  
  
"We came here, hoping we could rest for a while." Duo added cheerfully.  
  
"Sure you can!" Cary shouted, "for as long as you need too. But I have to go to school. Hey! You can enroll in the school!"  
  
"What school?" Sam asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
********  
  
Aenne looked up at the canopy around her, not caring that she was in the middle of the jungle, not knowing what day it was, she was just happy to be home, on the Earth. She was just happy to be home on the Earth, one step closer to Sam and Duo. For the first time in a long time, she knew where she was and exactly what she was going to do. Her mission now was simple: find Sam and Duo, then take a shower. In fact it would be a nice long shower with wonderful Pantene Pro-V and then some nice conditioner (doesn't matter what kind, dear god I just wanted some conditioner!!..uh..), which would of course be followed by a pink bubble bath! (ya know, the colorful bubble bathy stuff) "Yes, yes a nice bubble bath will do nicely." She turned her thoughts into words. "With the pinkness! And the bubbles!! Ooh! Ooh! Bubbles!!"  
  
"Ooh, ooh bubbles?" Chang cocked an eyebrow, mocking her.  
  
"Yes bubbles!!" Aenne protested back defensively. "I feel icky! I haven't showered for I don't know how long and I haven't had a decent meal forever! Ick!" Normally Aenne would have not cared and muttered to herself, but they were in a hot sticky jungle and she felt like she was going to pass out right then and there.  
  
"Women.." Chang muttered to himself.  
  
********  
  
Sam and Duo awoke the next morning to the horrid resonating ringing from Cary's alarm clock. "Ah! Turn it off! Off I say!!" Duo shouted as he threw a pillow at Cary's head to wake her up so she could shut the clock off.  
  
"Mmmmm." Cary mumbled, just turning over. "Not now.."  
  
"Argh! Do I havta do everything myself?" Sam hastily got up, throwing the blankets off of her. She grumbily stumbled over to Cary's dresser and unplugged the clock. "There!" Since Sam was hopelessly awake, she moseyed her way into the kitchen and started a nice fresh cup o' Joe! And Duo and Cary drifted off into dreamland once again. Two hours and ten cups of coffee later, Sam decided it was time to get them up. She was extremely bored, totally bored, insane singing little songs about the imaginary coffee thieves swimming in her coffee bored! Sam rummaged around Cary's new house until she found, oddly enough, another bullhorn. She switched it on and let the fun commence. "TOP OF THE MORNIN' TO YA ALL!!" Her voice instantly woke the sleeping beauties.  
  
"I'm awake!" Duo got up, holding his head. "Ehhhh.." He rubbed his eyes looking out the window. "What time is it?"  
  
"It's 8:45." Sam responded.  
  
"8:45!?!" Cary shot out of bed. "8:45!?! School started forty-five minutes ago!!!! Hurry both of you!! We're gonna be late!!"  
  
"But Cary..we don't go to school anymore, we haven't been since we became pilots." Sam tried to explain, not wanting to go back to the dreaded place of grades and evil teachers.  
  
"School?" Duo whined. "But I just got up."  
  
"Tough!! Get ready NOW!!" Cary wandered off, in search of clean clothes.  
  
"Duo." Sam looked at him. "Get dressed."  
  
"Fine, fine. I guess we should keep Cary company." He said while he slipped on his pants and shirt (cause Duo wears boxers to bed!). "I mean we visited your old school, how bad can it possibly be?"  
  
"Very very bad."  
  
Cary rushed back into the room, struggling to get a sweater on while a slice of toast hung from her teeth. "Lesh go!"  
  
********  
  
"Ughhhh.." Aenne complained as she continued to drag her feet through the harsh terrain of jungle. "How long have we been walking?"  
  
"18 hours." Chang replied bluntly.  
  
"Can we take a break now?"  
  
"No."  
  
"NO!?" Aenne shouted. "What do you mean no!? I swear my feet fell off like three hours ago. Just a small nap, teeny tiny?"  
  
"We should keep walking." Mr. Heero finally spoke since they landed.  
  
"Incompetent fools." Aenne grumbled. They trio continued to walk for a few minutes before they actually came to a clearing. The trees cut back to a wondrous beach, with sparkling blue water and golden sand. Aenne's eye's lit up once she saw the most prodigious sight. "We made it!! We made it!!" She ran to the sand and dove into it, happy to see something besides trees (even though she loved the trees). The girl picked up handfuls of sand and threw them up into the sky, laughing.  
  
Suddenly she felt very light head. "Hey you guys." She said stumbling backwards, supporting her head with her hands. "I don feel to goo-" Aenne fainted as she collapsed onto the sandy beach.  
  
********  
  
Cary's car pulled up to the new school, just in time for break. "Everyone out." Cary commanded as she scurried across the street. "Don't worry you guys the school's co-ed so Duo doesn't havta dress in drag."  
  
"Danmit!" Sam snapped her fingers. "But I wanted to see that!"  
  
Duo glared at her. "Ha ha ha..not funny."  
  
"You know you wanted to!"  
  
"Nu-uh!!"  
  
"Duo wants to dress in drag!!!" Sam shouted upon entering the school, causing the passerby's to stare at them. "Uhh."  
  
"Cary why were you late?" A random psychotic teacher approached the trio. "You know tardiness is against school policy. You better have a good excuse or you will go to detention!(eep! It's a scary school)"  
  
"Well, ya see. as I was going to school this morning, I found these poor helpless orphans on the side of the road."  
  
"Hey we are not helpless!" Duo protested. "I'll have you know once- " Duo was cut off by Sam's hand covering his mouth.  
  
"Anyway, being the kind person I am, I could never leave them to starve and die all alone! So I brought them home fixed them up and decided to bring them here.for an education of course." Cary smiled hoping that the teacher would believe her.  
  
"If I find out your lying, there will be hell to pay! Now get to class!"  
  
"Yes ma'am." Cary walked off, rolling her eyes. "Stupid teachers."  
  
"Hey are all the teachers that mean?" Duo asked.  
  
"No. She's some friend of the Peacecraft's and has a major stick up her butt!"  
  
********  
  
Chang supported Aenne in his arms as he waved in front of her face with his had. As he looked down on her tired body, he couldn't help but notice her serene beauty. He brushed a stand of her long blond hair off her face causing her to stir slightly. Her eyes fluttered open, peering into Chang's deep brown eyes.  
  
"I'm sorry." Aenne strained to say. "I just need rest."  
  
"Shh." Chang whispered as he began to rock Aenne back and forth, "Just sleep."  
  
Feeling Chang's warmth, Aenne slowly closed her eyes again. In that moment, she felt something stir within her. For the first time, she understood exactly what Chang felt for her.  
  
********  
  
"Come on, I'll take to Peacecraft's office, then I have to get to class," Cary said taking a deep breath. "Man! I forgot to do my homework."  
  
"I'm sorry." Sam said remembering her school days. "It's our fault, we kept you awake."  
  
"No, I didn't want to do it anyways. It was a dumb assignment." Cary said leading the way through the hallways.  
  
"We get to go to school in a castle!" Duo said looking around here. "Maybe we could just board here."  
  
"Yeah, it would go better with our little story." Sam said smiling.  
  
"Here's her office." Cary said stopping. "I have to warn you, she's really scary. She promotes pacifism, so no violence. Don't even bring up the topic." Cary softly knocked on the door.  
  
"Yes come in." A voice called through. "Hello." Cary said sticking her head in.  
  
"Ah, yes, Cary Stussi, Come on in." the voice repeated.  
  
"I have some new students here that need to enroll in classes." Cary said pointing to Sam and Duo.  
  
"Well, we will have to begin with your names. I'm Relena Peacecraft."  
  
"Sam Lukowski."  
  
"Duo Maxwell."  
  
"And what brings you here to my school?" Relena asked somberly.  
  
"The hopes of pacifists society." Sam said before Duo could open his mouth.  
  
"I'm glad you see things that way, Sam." Relena said looking in her eyes,  
  
"And you Duo."  
  
"The same." he said simply.  
  
"We follow basic rules here," Relena continued, "You are to act with dignity becoming of someone to truly wants to advocate peace."  
  
"Sounds simple enough." Duo said smiling.  
  
"Yeah." Sam replied. "We start class today?"  
  
"Yes, but first, I'm going to ask Miss Cary to show you around." Relena looking at Cary,  
  
"Would you be so kind as to welcome them to their new school?"  
  
"No problem." Cary responded quickly. With everything all said and done, Relena sat back down in her chair, behind her desk, making the encounter so impersonal. They left quickly, being sure not to make too much noise.  
  
"So what do you think?" Cary asked after a breath.  
  
"I don't like her." Sam said plainly.  
  
"Why?" Duo asked raising an eyebrow.  
  
"She's a wuss." Sam said sternly. "She didn't even shake my hand."  
  
"Okay." Duo said looking at Sam funny, "So Cary, let the tour begin."  
  
********  
  
"You can't rest forever woman!" Chang said loudly.  
  
"Just one more minute." Aenne said rolling over.  
  
"We have to go now." Chang said repeating his stern voice.  
  
"No, we have to rest for one more minute." Aenne said annoyed. "I'm sleepy." With that, she rolled over and was fast asleep slightly snoring.  
  
"Aenne ..." Chang lightly whispered, "You are such a pain." 


End file.
